Recently, President Donald Trump announced that William Pulte, the former director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, will serve as the acting director of national intelligence (DNI). This appointment highlights several flaws in the law that authorizes acting appointees of the executive branch.

In a recent op-ed in Lawfare, Thomas Berry, the director of the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, details these flaws and identifies legislative remedies that Congress could enact, writing in part:

“When the Senate vets and confirms a nominee, it does so with a particular position in mind. So while a confirmed official can be presumed qualified for their own office, there is no reason to think they would also be qualified to serve, even temporarily, in an entirely separate department.

“… The solution is simple: Congress should amend the Vacancies Act to require that all acting officers, including those from the category of Senate-confirmed officials, must be from the same department or agency as the vacant office they temporarily fill. That is already the statutory rule when the president chooses a civil servant to serve as an acting officer; Congress need only extend this limitation to Senate-confirmed officers.”

To speak with Berry further on Pulte’s appointment and the Vacancies Act, contact Christopher Tarvardian.