(a message from DFNYC member Michael Minn)

On December 26, 2007, Senator Jim Webb of Virginia gaveled the U.S. Senate into session for nine seconds, thus preventing the recess appointment of Steven Bradbury as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said there are plans for such "Pro Forma" sessions every two or three days until the Senate returns to regular session on January 22, 2008.

Bradbury is best known in progressive political circles as the attorney who signed off on two secret memos in 2005 that authorized the CIA to use torture on terrorism suspects. Bradbury has already been acting head of the office since 2004 when he replaced Jack Landman Goldsmith, a conservative lawyer who was forced to resign because he wouldn't approve Cheney's desire for the use of "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques" and broader domestic surveillance. Bradbury was officially nominated for the office on June 23, 2005, but his appointment couldn't be forced through even when the Senate was in Republican control.

The bad news is that Bradbury will continue on in the job and the Senate's actions will only prevent the "Acting" from being removed from his title. However, there is a case to be made that Bradbury's presence violates the 1998 Vacancies Reform Act, which bars non-Senate-confirmed appointees for holding their jobs for longer than 210 days. DFNYC's Dan Jacoby has also pointed out that there are serious constitutional questions about Bush's unprecedented use of recess appointments for the installation of unconfirmable nominees (such that of John Bolton as Ambassador to the U.N.).

However, given Cheney's demonstrated lack of concern for the constitution, the glacial pace of legal action, the conservative dominance of the Supreme Court, and, perhaps, a desire to preserve unlimited recess appointment power for some future Democratic president, the current Democratic leadership is left using procedural tactics like Pro Forma sessions to do what it can to curb the overgrown power of this particular Executive Branch. Given Bradbury's apparent lack of support on either side of the aisle, this may not be one of Reid's boldest moves, but at least it's something.