Barack Obama, it has been reported, intends to announce Sen. Hillary Clinton as his choice for secretary of state, an appointment America's Founding Fathers forbade in the U.S. Constitution.

The constitutional quandary arises from a clause that forbids members of the Senate from being appointed to civil office, such as the secretary of state, if the "emoluments," or salary and benefits, of the office were increased during the senator's term.

The second clause of Article 1, Section 6, of the Constitution reads, "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; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office."

During Hillary Clinton's current term in the Senate, the salary for Cabinet officers was increased from $186,600 to $191,300. Since the salary is scheduled to again be raised in January 2009, not only Hillary Clinton, but all sitting Senate members could be considered constitutionally ineligible to serve in Obama's Cabinet.

The Saxbe fix or simply a "rollback" is a solution to a restriction by the Ineligibility Clause contained in Article One of the United States Constitution on sitting members of the United States Congress being appointed to jobs created for them or for which the salary was increased while they were in office.

Originally posted by Wolf321


Well, it seems in conjunction with the ongoing debate on President-elect Barack Hussein Obama citizenship, the constitutionality of an appointment of Sen. Hillary Clinton to Secretary of State has come up. This will clearly inflame liberals.

Why are there so many potential constitutional conflicts with this coming administration? Have such things happened before in American history?

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Originally posted by SonicInfinity
Hmm, why do you say "Barack Hussein Obama" and not "Hillary Rodham Clinton"? I hope you're not emphasizing his middle name or anything like that.

It makes you wonder if they're all being unconstitutional on purpose. You can never tell what these people are thinking. Even if Hillary being Secretary of State is unconstitutional, if Obama can get past the system, I don't see how Hillary will be stopped.

Office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time;