Supreme Court to consider president's power to appoint high-level officials in acting capacity
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider the president’s power to appoint government officials on an “acting” basis when the president has nominated the same person to permanently fill the position.
The case, NLRB v. SW General Inc., interprets a federal law called the 1998 Federal Vacancies Reform Act, report SCOTUSblog, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters and Bloomberg News. The cert petition is here (PDF).
SW General, an ambulance company, contends that a president who appoints a pending nominee to work in an acting capacity is able to advance his agenda without obtaining the advice and consent of the Senate. The company is fighting an unfair labor practice complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board.
SW General contends the labor complaint is invalid because the NLRB’s acting general counsel was awaiting confirmation to the permanent position. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit sided with the company when it ruled the law bars the nominees from serving in an acting role unless they previously served as “first assistant” for at least 90 days to that post.
