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8 

FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT AND MANAGEMENT BD. FOR 
PUERTO RICO v. AURELIUS INVESTMENT, LLC 
THOMAS, J., concurring in judgment 

States.  See 2 The Papers of George Washington: Presiden-
tial Series 196–198 (D. Twohig ed. 1987); 33 Journals of the
Continental Congress, 1774–1789, p. 711 (R. Hill ed. 1936). 
He even had the power to call on the militia of the States in
the President’s name to prevent “incursions of the hostile
Indians.”  2 The St. Clair Papers 125 (W. Smith ed. 1882). 
Thus,  at  least  with  respect  to  the  Governor,  who  wielded
powers of the National Government, the First Congress ap-
pears to have modified the Northwest Ordinance to ensure 
its compliance with the Appointments Clause. 

In  contrast,  Congress  did  not  revise  the  process  for  ap-
pointing  “magistrates  and  other  civil  officers,”  who  re-
mained subject to appointment by the Governor.  1 Stat. 51, 
n. (a), and 53.  The “magistrates and other civil officers” of
the  Northwest  Territory  included  justices  of  the  peace, 
clerks of the court, sheriffs, coroners, surveyors, and nota-
ries.  3  The  Territorial  Papers  of  the  United  States:  The 
Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, 1787–1803, pp. 304–
307 (C. Carter ed. 1934).  If these officials were exercising a
statutory  duty  under  the  powers  of  the  National  Govern-
ment, they would have certainly been considered “Officers
of the United States” under the Appointments Clause.  See 
Mascott 484–507, 510–515.  “The Founders considered in-
dividuals to be officers even if they performed only ministe-
rial statutory duties—including recordkeepers, clerks, and 
tidewaiters (individuals who watched goods land at a cus-
tomhouse).”  Lucia, 585 U. S., at ___ (THOMAS, J., concur-
ring) (slip op., at 3).  But “the powers and duties of magis-
trates and other civil officers [were] regulated and defined 
by the [territorial] assembly,” 1 Stat. 51, n. (a), and there-
fore were necessarily exercised pursuant to Article IV, see 
supra, at 3–5.  It is evident that the First Congress did not 
consider these officials to be “Officers of the United States,” 
because it allowed appointment by an official who is not the 
“hea[d] of a department.”  See United States v. Germaine, 
99 U. S. 508, 510 (1879).