Pete Sessions: “That is correct also. I suggest this is an odd thing we are doing. This is an executive branch appointment. That is what…”

“That is correct also. I suggest this is an odd thing we are doing. This is an executive branch appointment. That is what has been contemplated since the founding of the Republic, and that is what we have done since the founding of the Republic. I was a U.S. Attorney for 12 years. It was always considered an oddity, if some vacancy occurred and the confirmation did not occur within the required time, that a Federal judge would be involved in appointing an executive branch appointment. But that is what the statute was. It worked to some degree, and we went on with it over the years. But it was never a thoughtful, principled approach to how the executive branch of the Government should be operated because I am not aware of any other appointment in the executive branch of Government for which if it is not filled in a timely basis, the Senate--a coequal branch--can up and fill that appointment, nominate and fill it; nor am I aware of any other office in the entire Government where a Federal judge would fill it if the Senate did not act properly or the President did not nominate and follow through properly. I want to say I think Senator Kyl's solution to this problem is thoughtful. The more I considered it, the more I believed he was on the right track. Truthfully, if our colleagues who are concerned about the difficulty in the statute would pay attention to what he has said, you would want to support the Kyl amendment because it goes beyond President Bush.…”