When can the President appoint without approval

The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same term, be elected, as follows:

Inhaltsverzeichnis Show

Four Types of Presidential Appointments

Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector.

The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each; which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for President; and if no person have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the said House shall in like manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each state having one vote; A quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice President.

The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the United States.

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.

In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation or inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services, a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other emolument from the United States, or any of them.

Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Section 2.

The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.

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.

Section 3.

He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States.

Section 4.

The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

There are two avenues to serving in the Executive Branch — through a career position or through a non-career position. This guide focuses on non-career, political appointments. Career positions are civil service positions that have a more traditional application process, listings for these positions can be found at usajobs.gov.

There are over 9,000 potential civil service leadership and support positions in the Legislative and Executive branches of the Federal Government that may be subject to political appointments. However, the actual number of positions filled by political appointment is limited to roughly 4,000 due to statutory limitations on the number of positions that may be filled by non-career appointment.

Four Types of Presidential Appointments

Presidential Appointments Requiring Senate Confirmation (PAS)

These are top-level, senior positions that include the heads of most major agencies This includes cabinet secretaries, agency leadership at the Deputy Secretary, Under Secretary, and Assistant Secretary levels, the heads of most independent agencies, ambassadors, and U.S. Attorneys. Some positions within the Executive Office of the President, including the director of the Office of Management and Budget, also fall in this category. These positions require a congressional hearing and a confirmation vote in the U.S. Senate.

Presidential Appointments Not Requiring Senate Confirmation (PA)

This category includes hundreds of positions, including most positions within the Executive Office of the President. These includes most senior White House aides and advisors as well as their deputies and key assistants. These appointments do not require a Senate hearing or vote.

Non-Career Senior Executive Service (SES)

Members of the SES serve in key positions just below the top presidential appointees. Designed to be a corps of executives charged with running the federal government, these positions include senior management positions within most federal agencies and serve as the major link between top political appointees and the rest of the federal workforce. While the SES largely consists of career officials, up to 10%, or (as of 2016) 680 positions, can be political appointees. Unlike the presidential appointments, the non-career SES appointments tend to be made within each agency and then approved by the Office of Personnel Management and the Presidential Personnel Office.

Confidential or Policymaking Positions (Schedule C (SC))

These positions consist of political appointees in policymaking positions or positions that require a close working relationship with the incumbent officeholder or key political officials. Schedule C positions may be designated by the Office of Personnel Management or the Executive Office of the President at the request of an agency.

The United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions, or Plum Book, is used to identify presidentially appointed positions within the federal government. The 2016 Plum Book is available here and some updated information for a 2020 Plum Book is available here. It lists the over 9,000 potential civil service leadership and support positions in the Legislative and Executive branches of the federal government that may be subject to political appointments.

Published every four years after a presidential election, the Plum Book is best thought of as a snapshot of presidentially appointed positions within the federal government at the time of publishing. Making sense of a long list of job titles without descriptions can be challenging. Furthermore, changes at the SES and Schedule C levels are relatively common.

Here are a few tips for lawyers to understand the Plum Book, which is critical to the presidential appointments process.

Many, but not all, positions are highly dependent on subject matter expertise. You can start your examination of the positions in the Plum Book with agencies that deal with matters in your field of expertise. Note that some backgrounds are relevant across federal agencies (e.g. administrative law, employment law)
There are several types of roles that are common across agencies. Your skills and background may be suited to a type of role as opposed to subject matter expertise.
For example, nearly every agency has an office of the General Counsel and an Office of the Inspector General
Similarly, most agencies have White House and Congressional Liaison offices
Many senior management roles of agency departments are presidential appointees
A vast majority of presidentially appointed positions are based in the Washington D.C. area (apart from U.S. Attorney positions), but not all of them.
Presidential appointments are not limited to senior level positions. If you are early in your career, look closely at the Schedule C appointments for positions best suited to your level of experience.