This apply, primarily noticed inside the US Senate, pertains to the deference proven to a senator by the President when nominating people to federal positions inside that senator’s state. Particularly, it signifies a casual settlement the place the President will sometimes not appoint an individual to a federal workplace, corresponding to a district choose or U.S. Lawyer, if the related senator from the state in query objects. For example, if a senator from Texas opposes the President’s nominee for a federal judgeship in Texas, the Senate is unlikely to substantiate that nominee.
Its significance lies within the upholding of state illustration in federal appointments and may stop appointments which might be politically untenable inside a state. Its historic context reveals its evolution as a way of sustaining comity inside the Senate and granting particular person senators a level of management over federal patronage inside their jurisdictions. This apply, nevertheless, can even result in delays within the appointment course of and probably restrict the pool of candidates thought-about for federal positions.
