Gotta give credit where credit is due when it comes to Barack Obama. As Abdul says, “he did the one thing Republucans couldn’t and that’s defeat Bill and Hillary Clinton”. He’s also been adhering to the cardinal rule of politics, keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer. He’s laced his political appointments so far with former Clinton White House staffers and even extended a pseudo-olive branch to Hillary by offering her the position of Secretary of State which, let’s be honest, she is qualified for. But could a little known rule that says a Congressman or Senator is ineligible for a Civil position if a pay raise occurs while they are an elected official prevent Hillary from becoming SoS?
From AOL’s Political Machine:
The source of the issue is something called the Emoluments Clause, which is a clause in the Constitution that essentially states that, while a person is serving a term of office to which they were elected, he or she may not be appointed to any civil office which was newly created, or for which the compensation was increased in that same term. So because there was a pay raise given to the position of Secretary of State during Senator Clinton’s current term, she is ineligible for appointment to this office. The wording: “No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.”
Does this keep her from getting the job? Not entirely. This has happened before, most recently when President Nixon tapped Sen. William Saxbe as his AG. How’d they get around it? They decreased the salary and the move was then known as the “Saxbe Fix”. Could we be in for a “Hillary Fix”? I guess it depends on just how badly she want the job.
Oddly enough, the site that broke this story was Daily Kos.
“Oddly enough, the site that broke this story was Daily Kos.”
That’s not odd. The Kossacks hate her guts.
The “Emoluments Clause” is Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the US Constitution: “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”
The discussion here is not about the emoluments clause, but a DIFFERENT part of the US Constitution.
In Article 1, Section 6, Clause 2, it says “No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time: and no person holding any office under the United States, shall be a member of either House during his continuance in office.”
But it’s not applicable, either. The statute raising that salary – 5 USC 5303 – was passed in the 1990s. Hilary didn’t become a Senator until 2001.
Of all sites Harl, Daily Kos would beg to differ with you.
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