nt, such as it may do to its approval of a treaty. In the words
of an early opinion of the Attorney General: "The Senate cannot
originate an appointment. Its constitutional action is confined to the
simple affirmation or rejection of the President's nominations, and such
nominations fail whenever it rejects them. The Senate may suggest
conditions and limitations to the President, but it cannot vary those
submitted by him, for no appointment can be made except on his
nomination, agreed to without qualification or alteration."[298] This
view is borne out by early opinion[299] as well as by the record of
practice under the Constitution.

When Senate Consent Is Complete

Early in January, 1931 the Senate requested President Hoover to return
its resolution notifying him that it advised and consented to certain
nominations to the Federal Power Commission. In support of its action
the Senate invoked a long-standing rule permitting a motion to
reconsider a resolution confirming a nomination within "the next two
days of actual executive session of the Senate" and the recall of the
notification to the President of the confirmation. The nominees
involved having meantime taken the oath of office and entered upon the
discharge of their duties, the President responded with a refusal,
saying: "I cannot admit the power in the Senate to encroach upon the
executive functions by removal of a duly appointed executive officer
under the guise of reconsideration of his nomination." The Senate
thereupon voted to reconsider the nominations in question, again
approving two of the nominees, but rejecting the third, against whom it
instructed the District Attorney of the District of Columbia to
institute _quo warranto_ proceedings in the Supreme Court of the
District. In United States _v._ Smith[300] the Supreme Court overruled
the proceedings on the ground that the Senate had never before attempted
to apply its rule in the case of an appointee who had already been
installed in office on the faith of the Senate's initial consent and
notification to the President. In 1939 the late President Roosevelt
rejected a similar demand by the Senate, action which was not
challenged.[301]

Section 3. The President * * * shall Commission all the
Officers of the United States.

Commissioning the Officer

This, as applied in practice, does not mean that he is under
constitutional obligation to commission those whose appointments have
reached that st