Constitutionality of Temporary IG Designation upon Extended IG Vacancies

A constitutional analysis of one of POGO’s recommendations to reform the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. The recommendation is that the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency appoint a three-Inspector General panel to designate temporary inspectors general where there is no legitimate acting IG.

We argue that such a model would satisfy the Appointments Clause of the Constitution under the Excepting Clause. We also argue that the model doesn’t necessitate an appointments clause analysis because it provides for a temporary designation of an IG leader, not a permanent appointment. Finally, we demonstrate that there is precedent for such a model, used by the U.S. Attorneys, which has been found constitutional by the Supreme Court in U.S. v. Gantt.