MADISONCENTER FOR AMERICAN LEADERSHIP
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The Constitution,
connected.

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The constitutional text

Article II · Section 3

Select any highlighted phrase to understand what it means.

He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States

Source: National Constitution Center edition. Original wording is preserved; commentary explains historical and superseded provisions.

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Article II, section 3 (teaching subdivision g)

Commissioning federal officers

Current text
and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States

What it means

The President commissions officers of the United States. A commission is the formal instrument evidencing official authority, and should be distinguished from nomination and appointment.

Historical setting

A constitutional system needs recognizable records showing who has authority to act publicly. This administrative step complements the different appointment procedures supplied elsewhere in Article II.

What it does

Issuing a commission does not make an otherwise unauthorized appointment valid merely through paperwork. The office and its selection must satisfy the applicable constitutional and statutory requirements.

Debate & interpretation

The distinction matters when legal consequences depend on whether an appointment was complete or an official had authority to act. Formal documentation can be crucial without becoming the source of unlimited presidential appointment power.

A common misreading

The duty to commission all federal officers does not mean the President personally selects every officer through the same procedure.

Think it through

Why distinguish the legal act of appointment from the document that records or communicates it?

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Sources & further reading

Original Madison Center commentary. Explanations distinguish the text, historical context, and interpretive disagreements.

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