Bypassing the Senate
The week's news at a glance.
Washington, D.C.
President Bush took advantage of a brief Senate adjournment last week to appoint 17 federal officials without having to go through the regular confirmation process. Democrats complained that the “recess appointments” for posts at the Departments of State, Homeland Security, and others were an attempt to avoid questions about the qualifications of the candidates, including Julie Myers, the wife of a top aide to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, to head the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau. The White House said the recess appointments were necessary because Democratic threats to hold lengthy hearings amounted to “playing politics” with the nominations.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Frauds: ‘fantastically stylish’ crime heist caper is a ‘triumph’
The Week Recommends Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker play a pair of ex-cons planning one last job
-
The struggles of Aston Martin
In the Spotlight The car manufacturer, famous for its association with the James Bond franchise, is ‘running out of road’
-
The end of ‘golden ticket’ asylum rights
The Explainer Refugees lose automatic right to bring family over and must ‘earn’ indefinite right to remain