Bush Expected to Name Industry Lobbyist to Head Consumer Safety Agency link via Consumerist
The recess appointment authority is intended to fill vacancies in agencies during an emergency while Congress is in recess. Presidents have used it in the past as a way to ensconce controversial, often spectacularly unqualified political insiders who would be unlikely to win Congressional approval.
They need to close this loophole. If there is an emergency that arises while Congress is in recess (That’s what, 50% of the time? 60%?), then certainly exceptions can be made in the interests of the country.
But our fearless leader wants to use a long weekend to appoint a spectacularly inappropriate canidate to an important position that has been vacant for six months. This is quite plainly a violation of the spirit of the rule. I understand that we are not bound by the spirits of rules, but wouldn’t it be nice to think that our President would hold himself to a higher standard?
And then we can examine the choice itself. “Michael Baroody, chief lobbyist for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), a powerful trade group that opposes aggressive product safety regulation” is now going to be the chief of an organization meant to protect consumer safety. I think we can safely replace “the fox guarding the henhouse” with “Michael Baroody protecting consumer safety” as the default cliche.