Senate Democrats sue against Matthew Whitaker, call his appointment illegal

[Borealis]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/senate-democrats-sue-to-remove-matt-whitaker-from-the-attorney-general-post?ref=scroll

A group of Senate Democrats is suing to block Matt Whitaker from serving as acting attorney general on grounds that his placement in the post was unconstitutional.

The suit, which is being filed by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, is the latest
and most aggressive salvo against the Whitaker appointment. Last week, the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel defended Whitaker’s promotion in a memo that drew
immediate criticism for its expansive understanding of the president’s power.

That view is in hot dispute, including from the state of Maryland, which petitioned a federal judge to stop him from serving on constitutional grounds. The latest suit, which was
brought by the groups Protect Democracy and the Constitutional Accountability Center for the Senators, argues that Whitaker’s appointment violates the Constitution’s Appointments
Clause because the U.S. Senate did not confirm him to his prior post. Whitaker was chief of staff to now-former Attorney General Jeff Sessions before President Trump elevated him to
his current gig.

Trump did so through the Vacancies Reform Act, which allows the staffing of vacant positions for up to 210 days. But many constitutional scholars have argued that the Vacancies
Reform Act doesn’t let the president appoint people to cabinet-level positions who haven’t been senate confirmed. The Senate confirmed Whitaker in 2004 as a U.S. Attorney in Iowa,
but his opponents—most prominently George Conway, the husband of White House senior staffer Kellyanne Conway, and former Solicitor General Neal Katyal—say that confirmation
has effectively lapsed.

“Installing Matthew Whitaker so flagrantly defies constitutional law that any viewer of Schoolhouse Rock would recognize it,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “President Trump is
denying Senators our constitutional obligation and opportunity to do our job: scrutinizing the nomination of our nation’s top law enforcement official. The reason is simple: Whitaker
would never pass the advice and consent test. In selecting a so-called “constitutional nobody” and thwarting every Senator’s constitutional duty, Trump leaves us no choice but to seek
recourse through the courts.”

To legally challenge Whitaker’s appointment, the plaintiffs will have to show they have standing––meaning, that his appointment violated their rights. The question of whether this
select group of Democratic senators has standing on grounds that Whitaker’s appointment violated their constitutional right to advise and consent the president on cabinet-level
appointments will undoubtedly be debated. David Rivkin, a constitutional lawyer who served in the George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan administrations, told The Daily Beast
previously that to win this kind of suit, the Senate would first have to vote to claim standing as an institution.  

[Chonch]

Vacancies Reform Act
This law was just begging for a SCOTUS case from the moment it was written. I would not be suprised if this winds up being the first big test of Trump's new appointees.

[Curls]

Even fucking Fox news* says its illegal, there's no ground to stand on here. Fuck this cunt.

*not that them saying anything has merit