Senate Approval

Senate Approval ( Executive Establishment and Treaties)

The fact that the power of nomination belongs to the President alone prevents the Senate from attaching conditions to its approval of an appointment, such as it may do to its approval of a treaty. In the words of an early opinion of the Attorney General: “The Senate cannot originate an appointment. Its constitutional action is confined to the simple affirmation or rejection of the President's nominations, and such nominations fail whenever it rejects them. The Senate may suggest conditions and limitations to the President, but it cannot vary those submitted by him, for no appointment can be made except on his nomination, agreed to without qualifications or alteration.” 1 This view is borne out by early opinion,2 as well as by the record of practice under the Constitution.

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References

This text about Senate Approval is based on “The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation”, published by the U.S. Government Printing Office.

Notes

[Footnote 1] 3 Ops. Atty. Gen. 188 (1837).

[Footnote 2] 3 J. Story, supra at 1525-26; 5 WORKS OF THOMAS JEFFERSON 161-62 (P. Ford ed., 1904); 9 WRITINGS OF JAMES MADISON 111-13 (G. Hunt ed., 1910).