Friday, May 15, 2015

Unconstitutionality of the Saxbe Fix

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Article I, Section 6, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution:

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased [sic] during such time.

Source: U.S. Constitution, 1787

This clause was written to protect against corruption, and special favors. The most recent example of when this clause was violated was when Hillary Clinton was appointed as Secretary of State. During her time as Senator, the salary of the Secretary of State was increased, making all of the members of Congress at that time ineligible for the office. When Hillary Clinton was appointed to Secretary of State, a challenge regarding this clause was presented, and to resolve the conflict with the United States Constitution, the salary of Secretary of State was rolled back to its original level prior to the vote that Hillary Clinton had been a Senator during. The tactic used to roll back the emolument is known as the Saxbe Fix.

Though the Saxbe Fix is argued in legal and political circles as a legitimate resolution to violations to the clause in Article I, Section 6, the constitutionality of the move remains undefended by any text within the document. The clause does not say, “the emolument whereof shall have been increased during such time, unless rolled back.” The emoluments were increased during her time as Senator, regardless of the future rollback, making Hillary Clinton, or any other member of Congress, holding office during the time of that vote, ineligible for the office of Secretary of State.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

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