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To: Alberta's Child
A Federal statute cannot override the U.S. Constitution, and the Constitution clearly requires Senate confirmation for an appointee like the U.S. Attorney General.

No, it does not.

It says and I quote, "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.

They "thought it proper" and so enacted that Federal Statute.

By that statute they GAVE both "advice and consent" in a limited manner.

39 posted on 11/13/2018 8:42:37 AM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea is getting cold.)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear
... 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.

That particular item hinges entirely on the legal definition of an "inferior Officer." There have been a number of legal cases about this exact point, and there's no way the U.S. Attorney General would fit the definition of an "inferior officer" by any objective measure.

The two main parameters used by the U.S. Supreme Court in defining an "inferior" vs. "non-inferior" (the term "principal officer" is usually used in these legal cases) officer are:

1. A "principal officer" is one who reports to the President alone, and not through someone else. This means the Secretary of Transportation is a "principal officer," while the Federal Highway Administrator (who reports to the Secretary of Transportation) is an "inferior officer."

2. A "principal officer" is one who carries out functions that have been assigned to the office through a Federal statute. If Congress passes a law, for example, that says: "The Secretary of Transportation shall sign off on every Federal highway grant awarded by the USDOT," then the Secretary of Transportation is a principal officer. If, on the other hand, the authority for signing off on every Federal highway grant awarded by the USDOT is given to the FHWA director under internal USDOT regulations and not by statute, then the FHWA director is an "inferior officer."

40 posted on 11/13/2018 8:50:24 AM PST by Alberta's Child ("The Russians escaped while we weren't watching them ... like Russians will.")
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