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Chapter 10 Senate Confirmation
The Constition requires the "advice and consent" of the Senate for certain high level presidential appointees. Originally constructed by the Founders based on a number of analogous examples, including the State of New York constitution, the Senate confirmation process only applied to a handful of senior officials in a small political community. The passing mention in the Federalist Papers of this Constitutional provision suggests that the drafters were not concerned about the full implications of their regulatory design. Hamilton's analysis in Federalist No. 76 is an indication of this lack of concern.
Over time, the Senate confirmation process has become unwieldy and in certain cases incompatible with the efficient staffing of the Executive Branch. Workarounds of various types, including most recently, confirmations of large groups of nominees with a single vote, are some of the responses to applying an 18th century design in a 21st-century government.
Traditionally, the Senate has deferred to OGE and other ethics officials on potential conflicts of interest of nominees. Recent events have indicated an interest on the part of certain members of the Senate to reviewing potential conflicts and conditioning nomination on additional commitments on the part of nominees.
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