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Terminating Presidential Recess Appointments: A Reply To Professor Brian C. Kalt, Seth Barrett Tillman

Seth Barrett Tillman

This article replies to Professor Kalt's response to my opening article, "Senate Termination of Presidential Recess Appointments."

I argue that as a simple straight forward textual matter the Senate majority can terminate a presidential recess appointment by terminating their session, i.e., the session that meets following a presidential intersession recess appointment. If the president makes an intrasession recess appointment (assuming such things have any constitutional validity at all), the Senate can terminate that appointment too - by terminating the current session, immediately reassembling, and then terminating the new session!

I do not argue that American history or the Constitution's structure …