4 hours Ago
In an 1887 letter to an Anglican bishop, Lord Acton, an English Catholic historian, politician and writer, stated, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Though the U.S.
Constitution was written a century before Lord Acton wrote his letter, James Madison and the other people of wisdom who crafted our Constitution were aware of the need for checks and balances so that no one has absolute power. That includes the president of the United States. (They had no desire to replace King George III with another king.
) Article II (Section 2) of the U.S. Constitution states the president must make major appointments “with the advice and consent of the Senate,” which means that the president does not have the authority to unilaterally make these appointments.
Because the drafters of the U.S. Constitution did not envision that the Senate would always be in session, they made a special provision for appointments when the Senate was not in session.
Article II states, “The president shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session.” Fast forward to the present. President-Elect Trump, who views the U.
S. Constitution as an inconvenience, rather than as a sacred document, has let it be known that he would like the Senate to go into recess so that he can make cabinet appointments and other appointments unilaterally without seeking the advice and consent of the Senate. This is a naked power grab that is totally unacceptable.
As Lord Acton warned, “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” If the U.S.
Constitution is to be respected, all the individuals President-Elect Trump plans to nominate for cabinet positions and other high government positions must go through hearings and a vote by the Senate, which is necessary if the Senate is to give its consent. In some cases, this would be pro forma. For example, the approval of Sen.
Marco Rubio to serve as Secretary of State is a slam dunk. A person of integrity, he has served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is an excellent choice for the position. But in other cases, significant questions have been raised about the individuals President-Elect Trump plans to nominate for cabinet positions and other high government positions, among them Pete Hegseth (Defense Secretary) and Tulsi Gabbard (Director of National Intelligence.
) In these cases, and others as well, it is essential that Senate hearings be held and that members of the Senate make a carefully reasoned decision as to whether that person is an appropriate candidate for the appointment. If Senate Republican leaders are cowered by a vindicative president-elect and accommodate his request to be allowed to make recess appointments without Senate review, that will be a huge stain on the reputation of the august body that is the U.S.
Senate. It could also be an unspeakable disaster for our country. Dan Lee Dan Lee, a regular columnist, is the Marian Taft Cannon Professor in the Humanities at Augustana College; danlee@augustana.
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