US Supreme Court curbs in President's appointment powers

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday put new restrictions on presidential powers, limiting a president's authority to staff certain top government posts in a case involving an appointment to the National Labour Relations Board.

The court decided 6-2 to uphold a lower court's ruling that then-President Barack Obama exceeded his legal authority with his temporary appointment of an NLRB general counsel in 2011.

In an opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court said that under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, a person cannot serve as the acting head of a federal agency once the president nominates him or her to permanently serve in the role if it is a position that requires US Senate confirmation.

SW General Inc, a Scottsdale, Arizona-based private ambulance company and a subsidiary of Envision Healthcare Holdings Inc, had challenged the makeup of the NLRB as it sought to invalidate a board ruling that said it violated federal labour law by discontinuing bonus payments for longtime employees.

The NLRB had argued that the law's restriction applied only to politically appointed "first assistants" who are first in line for acting positions when the heads of agencies leave office, and not to other officials.

The ruling will give President Donald Trump and future presidents less flexibility in filling jobs that require Senate confirmation.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented, saying the court ignored the fact that since the law governing vacancies was adopted in 1998, more than 100 people have served in acting roles while the US Senate considered their nominations for permanent jobs.

The Supreme Court decision raises new questions about decisions made across the federal government by temporary appointees as far back as the late 1990s. When it filed its appeal last year, the Obama administration said the case might affect the actions of a half-dozen appointees who were currently serving, as well as an unspecified number of people who previously held temporary positions.

Among the agencies potentially affected are the Environmental Protection Agency, the Justice Department, the Defense Department and the Export-Import Bank.