Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-06
PRESIDENTS POWER INVOLVED.
Walsh Action on Power Commissioners
Virtually Form of Recall.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.


Can the Senate of the United States
remove from Office any person who has
once been confirmed and taken the oath
Of Office and begun the performance Of
his duties?
This question has been raised by the
action OF Senator Walsh of Montana,
who In an endeavor to bring about the
reconsideration by the Senate of its
vote of fortnight ago, has moved that
PRESIDENT Hoover be requested to return
10 tne senate the nominations of the
members of the Federal Power Commits
sion for further consideration.
VIII Request Opinion.
Should such motion pass the SEN
ate Mr.. Hoover will request an ouinion
from the Attorney General and it is
confidently expected that the executive
branch of the Government will take the
view more or less outlined in a decision
of the Supreme Court of the United
States few years ago, namely, that the
PRESIDENTS power of removal Is absolute
ana that he need not ask the advice Of
the Senate N removing from Office.
:, Wnne the case in question, involving
The appointment of a postmaster in
Oregon by President wilson. was not
exactly parallel with the present epi-
sooe, nevertheless Chief Justice Taft,
IN ms opinion, made 1t clear that the
Executive had absolute power over his
appolntees when once the Senate had
confirmed the nominations.
Several of the insurgent Senators
nave been aroused because immediately
upon taking office the new members Of
the Federal Power Commission dis
missed some of the subordinates, charp-
ing tnat such step was necessary to
said that had they known that the dis
LnlSsaIs would occur they would not
nave voted for the confirmation or
chairman George Otis Smith and his
associates on the Power Commission,
In Nature of Criticism.
So far as the Senate is concerned
Inc request for reconsideration of con-
nrmatlon IS based upon an act per-
formed after the oath CT Office was
taken and is therefore considered to
De IN the nature of a criticism of an
activity by a duly confirmed officer
Il is belng suggested in official quar-
ters that II the Senate has the right
10 reconsider a nomination when once
the oath of Office has been taken, C-Ic
power OF removal would really be vest
ed IN the Senate and system of re-
call would grow up making it difficult
Tor any officer of commission or the
executive branch of the Government to
exercise his judgment without fear of
congressional disfavor.
The pending motion has been so
worded that it permits of reconsider
alton If the President will send the
nominations back to the Senate. There
is nothing mandatory about the resolu-
ton, and the President can decline to
return the nominations if he desires. A
serious question has arisen whether,
even if the President wished to obIige
the Senate, it would not be necessary
for the officers who have taken the
oath to resign and entirely new nomi-
nations be sent to thz Senate.
Had the motion for reconsideration
been made and adopted either on the
same day that the nominations were
passed upon or even the next day, be-
fore the notifications had been sent to
the new members of the Power Commits
sion, it would have prevented the ac-
tual administration by Chairman Smith
and others of their duties.
Copyright. 1917