[1] 22 individuals have been appointed to a United States federal court through a recess appointment who were thereafter rejected by the United States Senate when their name was formally submitted in nomination, either by a vote rejecting the nominee, or by the failure of the Senate to act on the nomination.
These individuals served as federal judges, having full authority to hold office and issue rulings, until their rejection by the Senate.
Article II, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution states: The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.The president may fill critical federal executive and judicial branch vacancies unilaterally but temporarily when the Senate is in recess, and thus unavailable to provide advice and consent.
Wallace McCamant, appointed by Calvin Coolidge on May 25, 1925, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, was the lone recess appointment to a United States Court of Appeals to be rejected by the Senate.
Recess appointees to the United States district courts not subsequently confirmed by the Senate are as follows: