By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer
April 04, 2007
WASHINGTON - President Bush named Republican fundraiser Sam
Fox as U.S. ambassador to Belgium on Wednesday, using a maneuver
that allowed him to bypass Congress, where Democrats had derailed
Fox's nomination.
The appointment, made while lawmakers were out of town on
spring break, prompted angry rebukes from Democrats, who
said Bush's action may even be illegal.
Democrats had denounced Fox for his donation to the Swift
Boat Veterans for Truth during the 2004 presidential campaign.
The group's TV ads, which claimed that Sen. John Kerry exaggerated
his military record in Vietnam, were viewed as a major factor
in the Massachusetts Democrat's election loss.
Recognizing Fox did not have the votes to obtain Senate confirmation
in the Foreign Relations Committee, Bush withdrew the nomination
last week. On Wednesday, with the Senate on a one-week break,
the president used his power to make recess appointments to
put Fox in the job without Senate confirmation.
This means Fox can remain ambassador until the end of the
next session of Congress, effectively through the end of the
Bush presidency.
"It's sad but not surprising that this White House would
abuse the power of the presidency to reward a donor over the
objections of the Senate," Kerry said in a statement.
Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., a member of the Foreign Relations
Committee, said he plans to ask the Government Accountability
Office to issue an opinion on whether the recess appointment
is legal.
Recess appointments are intended to give the president flexibility
if Congress is out for a lengthy period of time, such as the
four-week adjournment in summer. But Dodd said the law was
not intended to circumvent lawmakers' approval.
"This is really now taking the recess appointment vehicle
and abusing this beyond anyone's imagination," said Dodd,
a candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. "This
is a travesty."
Bush also used his recess appointment authority to make Andrew
Biggs deputy director of Social Security. The president's earlier
nomination of Biggs, an outspoken advocate of partially privatizing
the government's retirement program, was rejected by Senate
Democrats in February.
Presidents since George Washington have made appointments
during congressional recesses to fill positions in the executive
and judicial branches. Bush has used the authority more frequently
than some but not all of his most recent predecessors, making
171 so far, compared with 140 for President Clinton over two
terms, 77 by his father in one term and 243 by President Reagan
during two terms.
Some of Bush's more notable recess appointments include John
Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Bolton arrived
at the U.N. in August 2005 after being appointed during a congressional
recess because he twice failed to be confirmed by the Senate.
Still unable to get Senate backing, he stepped down in December.
Others include include William Pryor and Charles Pickering
(news, bio, voting record) as federal appeals court judges,
in 2004, and Otto Reich as an assistant secretary of state,
in 2002.
Fox, a 77-year-old St. Louis businessman, gave $50,000 to
the Swift Boat group. He is national chairman of the Jewish
Republican Coalition and was dubbed a "ranger" by
Bush's 2004 campaign for raising at least $200,000. He is founder
and chairman of the Clayton, Mo.-based Harbour Group, which
specializes in the takeover of manufacturing companies.
Fox has donated millions of dollars to Republican candidates
and causes since the 1990s.
In answer to questions about the Swift Boat donation, Fox
has said he gives when asked, insisting he was not involved
with the writing of the ad scripts and never saw them before
they aired but had been aware of the general thrust of the
group.
Fox issued a statement saying he is "delighted and honored" to
accept the ambassadorial appointment.
"As the son of a man who fled Europe to find freedom
and a better life, I am especially humbled by the opportunity
to return to that continent as this nation's representative," he
said.
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