"
Immediately after this clause follows another in these words: "The
President shall have power to fill up all VACANCIES that may happen
DURING THE RECESS OF THE SENATE, by granting commissions which shall
EXPIRE AT THE END OF THEIR NEXT SESSION." It is from this last provision
that the pretended power of the President to fill vacancies in the
Senate has been deduced. A slight attention to the connection of the
clauses, and to the obvious meaning of the terms, will satisfy us that
the deduction is not even colorable.
The first of these two clauses, it is clear, only provides a mode for
appointing such officers, "whose appointments are NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED
FOR in the Constitution, and which SHALL BE ESTABLISHED BY LAW"; of
course it cannot extend to the appointments of senators, whose
appointments are OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR in the Constitution[2], and who
are ESTABLISHED BY THE CONSTITUTION, and will not require a future
establishment by law. This position will hardly be contested.
The last of these two clauses, it is equally clear, cannot be understood
to comprehend the power of filling vacancies in the Senate, for the
following reasons: First.
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