Despite Senate Republican opposition, Bill Lann Lee may still become
assistant attorney general in charge of civil rights, if only on a
temporary basis.
The Clinton administration is considering a recess appointment for
Lee, which means he could serve for at least one year and possibly two
depending on the timing of the appointment, experts say. Under the U.S.
Constitution, presidents can make such appointments when Congress is in
recess for an extended period of time.
The House and Senate adjourned in mid-November and will not return until late January.
“It’s up to Bill Lee if he wants to pursue it,” one civil rights
advocate said of the recess appointment. If the president appoints Lee
before Jan. 1, he likely would serve only until the end of 1998, said a
congressional aide who specializes in legal issues.
A presidential appointment during a recess next year conceivably
could keep Lee in the job through 1999, though the issue would require
some legal review, he said. Recess appointments are rare because they
often anger the Senate, whose job is to pass judgment on hundreds of
judicial and executive nominations each year.
Meanwhile, civil-rights groups said Senate Republicans erred in
rejecting Lee’s nomination to head the U.S. Justice Department’s civil
rights division.
“The Senate committed a grave injustice by not confirming Bill Lann
Lee,” said a spokeswoman for the NAACP Legal Defense and Education
Fund, where Lee served as Western regional director prior to his
appointment.
