Officer of the United States

Civilian officers of the U.S. are entitled to preface their names with the honorific style "the Honorable" for life, but this rarely occurs.

The U.S. Supreme Court wrote in Nixon v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 731 (1982): “Article II, § 1, of the Constitution provides that "[t]he executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States.

This grant of authority establishes the President as the chief constitutional officer of the Executive Branch, entrusted with supervisory and policy responsibilities of utmost discretion and sensitivity.

[1][2] ... he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.The Framers of the U.S. Constitution understood the role of high officers specially imbued with certain authority to act on behalf of the head of state within the context of their earlier experience with the British Crown.

Delegation of "sovereign power" means possession of the authority to commit the federal government of the U.S. to some legal obligation, such as by signing a contract, executing a treaty, interpreting a law, or issuing military orders.

According to a 1996 opinion by then-Assistant Attorney General Walter Dellinger of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, "even the lowest ranking military or naval officer is a potential commander of U.S. armed forces in combat—and, indeed, is in theory a commander of large military or naval units by presidential direction or in the event of catastrophic casualties among his or her superiors.

[3] Commissioned officers of the eight uniformed services of the U.S.—the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Corps, and Public Health Service Commissioned Corps—are all officers of the U.S.

Additionally, military officers promoted in the Reserves to colonel (or captain in the Navy) also require Senate confirmation.

However, if the office is that of ambassador, "public minister" (member of the Cabinet of the U.S.), judge of the U.S. Supreme Court, or if the office has not been specifically vested for filling "in the President alone" by the authorizing legislation, then an intermediate step is required before the commission can be issued, namely, the U.S. Senate must give its "advise and consent" which, in practice, means approval by vote of a simple majority.

[11] According to a 2012 study by the Congressional Research Service, there are between 1,200 and 1,400 civilian officers of the U.S. which are subject to the "advice and consent" of the Senate prior to commissioning.

[27][28] The Colorado Supreme Court ruling dismissed the resulting interpretation of Section 3 as being contrary to its "plain language and history".

[29] One point of contention in the wider context of the U.S. Constitution is whether classifying the president as an officer of the United States conflicts with the Appointments Clause (Article II, Section 2, Clause 2, which in part concerns appointment by the president of Officers of the United States).

[37] Similarly, an essay in The Federalist Papers spells out that Senators are not covered by the first part of the Appointments Clause since they are "otherwise provided for" in the Constitution, and established by it, rather than "by law".

Those who do not require confirmation of the Senate are provided semi-engraved commission certificates (partially printed with hand inscription of name, date, and title by a White House calligrapher) on letter-sized parchment.

The presentation of commissions for civilian officers generally follows the following style, or some variation thereof: To all who shall see these presents, greeting: Know Ye that, reposing special trust in the integrity, ability, and fidelity of John Dow, I have nominated and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, do appoint John Dow as Librarian of Congress, and do authorize and empower him to execute and fulfill the duties of that office according to law, and to have and to hold said office, with all the powers, privileges, and emoluments to the same of right appertaining unto him, the said Librarian of Congress, for the term of ten years, unless the President of the United States, for the time being, should be pleased sooner to revoke this commission.

In testimony whereof, I have caused these letters to be made patent and the seal of the United States hereunto affixed.

Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, the twenty-ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand and sixteen, and of the independence of the United States of America the two-hundred and fortieth.