- Video
Who Is an Officer of the United States?
Is it possible to have officers of the United States selected in a merit-based way? Professor Jennifer Mascott explores the tension between two competing ideas about who is an ‘officer of the United States’ under the Appointments Clause of the US Constitution. Should officers be selected via political appointment, or via a merit-based process? Merit-based hiring system started with the Pendleton Act, in the late 1800s, and over time there have been greater numbers of civil servants hired as ‘independent experts’ in a non-partisan fashion, not as political appointees selected by the President. The Constitutional question comes to a head today: How many merit-based criteria can be used in political appointments before the appointment no longer qualifies as a constitutional appointment? https://youtube.com/watch?v=tx3oV70bAaA