The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

Removal of Executive Officers

Executive Officers are nominated by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and serve at the pleasure of the President. This statement has been true throughout our history; the question I have is whether it should remain true. I firmly believe that the President should nominate and the Senate should confirm the nominations, but I am less convinced that they should serve only at the pleasure of the President. In the past, the only way to remove an Executive Officer was by impeachment and conviction by Congress. The Constitution, in Article II, Section. 4. States, “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Consequently, impeachment of Executive Officers is usually done for criminal actions by an Executive Officer, as there are no other Constitutional means for removing Executive Officers other than for criminal actions. Therefore, their remaining in office has been left to the discretion of the President.

The incompetence of the Executive Officers in the Biden Administration is astounding. Through their words and deeds, they have demonstrated their incompetence. Almost every major decision that they have made has had negative repercussions for America and Americans. On the International stage, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Ukrainian War, the threatening actions of Russia and China, and their policies on Central and South America have all been incompetent. On the National stage, the impacts of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Americans and our economy, their economic recovery plans, to illegal immigration on our southern border, to the increase in crime in our streets, to the loss of energy independence, to the supply chain and transportation problems, to gas price increases, to inflation, to a recession, and to a host of other issues we have seen negative repercussions on America and Americans by the incompetence of the Executive Officers of the Biden Administration.

There is also the failure of Executive Officers to faithfully execute the laws. Their Oath of Office requires them to discharge the duties of the office for which they enter, which includes faithfully executing the laws:

“I, [NAME], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”

Executive Officers have systematically ignored, circumvented, or contravened the law, which is an assault on the Constitution and The Rule of Law. They have systemically weaponized the Justice Department and the FBI to persecute and prosecute their opponents. They have attempted and sometimes succeeded in extending the law via Executive Orders and Directives for the purpose of creating social policy that was not intended by the passage of these laws. All these actions are a violation of their Oath of Office and are Unconstitutional actions.

In addition, many Executive Officers of the Biden Administration have lied to or deceived Congress when Congress has exercised their Constitutional duties and responsibilities of Congressional oversight of the Executive Branch of government. Such false testimony is punishable under the law, but it would require that the Biden Justice Department investigate, charge, and prosecute such false testimony of Biden Executive Officers. This can not be expected to happen, as the Biden Administration is the beneficiary of this false testimony and has no desire to end this false testimony.

Given the number of Executive Officers that President Biden has confirmed that are sheerly incompetent, have not faithfully executed the laws, and have given false testimony, and by the unwillingness of President Biden to remove them from office, we need a better way than impeachment to remove these Executive Officers from office. Their incompetence, not faithfully executing the laws, and giving false testimony have done great harm to America, and we need to remove them from office and replace them with competent persons that have the capabilities, honesty, integrity, and virtue to be Executive Officers.

In the past, we have relied on virtuous Executive Officers that will conduct themselves properly in the performance of their duties, and when they did not do so, they resigned in disgrace. Alas, virtue seems to have been replaced with political expediency in modern America. Therefore, I would like to see Congress pass a law that would allow the House of Representatives to have a majority vote of no confidence for Executive Officers that have engaged in these aforementioned actions, followed by a majority vote of the Senate to remove an Executive Officer for engaging in these aforementioned actions.

Such a law would cause some consternation in our governance, as a partisan Congress may become more partisan, and a Congress of the opposite party from the President may utilize this law to harass the President. However, the damage of the aforementioned actions by Executive Officers is greater than the problems that may be caused by this law. On balance, therefore, I believe that we need this law to reign in the problems of the aforementioned actions by Executive Officers. I also view this law as a check and balance against the powers of the Executive Branch. As to the Constitutionality of this law, it is uncertain, and if ruled unconstitutional, then we may need to consider a Constitutional Amendment to resolve this problem. To which I say—so be it.