Constitutional Issue Averted on Appointment of Sen. Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State

Before Congress adjourned, it dealt quickly with the potential Constitutional issue addressed previously regarding the nomination by President-elect Barack Obama of Sen. Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State. As reported by the Telegraph:

Hillary Clinton's appointment as US Secretary of State has been challenged as unconstitutional. In fact it conflicts with Article 1, Section 6 of the Constitution which states: "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."

Bill Smith, ARRA Editor identified at the time of the stated concerns that

As for the second issue regarding Senator Clinton's appointment to be Secretary of State, there is a constitutional bar to her being appointed appointed to a position on which she voted to increase the salary to that position. However there is historical precedence by which Congress could vote to lower the salary back to the level it was before Clinton is appointed.

Congress late Wednesday night lowered the salary by about $4,700 for Secretary of State to keep Clinton's nomination from running afoul of the Constitution. Secretary of State Rice makes $191,300. Congress rolled back the salary that the next secretary of state will get to $186,600, the salary that was in place when Clinton began her current Senate term in January, 2007. As a senator, Clinton currently makes $169,300. Clinton is expected to keep her Senate seat pending confirmation by the Senate next year. Republicans and Democrats have said they expect no serious objections to her confirmation.

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