Treaties and Appointments

Treaties and Appointments. .

"He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties…" Article II, Section 2

, The power to make treaties with foreign nations is shared between the president and the Senate. The president has the authority to negotiate treaties as part of his responsibility to control diplomatic communications. The president often delegates the process of negotiating a treaty to a trusted federal official, such as the Secretary of State. However, the approval of the Senate is required for a treaty to be considered binding under federal law., In 1794, with war looming between France and England, Washington sent Chief Justice John Jay to negotiate a treaty with Britain. The resulting Jay Treaty resolved post-Revolutionary War disputes and strengthened US-British trade., France viewed the treaty as favoratism toward Britain. Under President Adams, French officials demanded that the American diplomats sent to ease tentions pay them, sparking the XYZ Affair. The crisis triggered an undeclared naval conflict between the two nations known as the Quasi-War.,

"[H]e shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States…"

, The Appointments Clause empowers the president to nominate government officials but provides a check on his power by requiring the Senate's approval for his appointments. These include Cabinet officials, Supreme Court justices, federal judges, and other important government officials., In the first year of his administration, Washington nominated four men to his Cabinet: Thomas Jefferson as the Secretary of State, Alexander Hamilton as the Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Knox as the Secretary of War, and Edmund Randolph as Attorney General. On September 11, 1789, Washington sent his first Cabinet nomination to the Senate, which unanimously approved the appointment of Hamilton within minutes., After the passing of the Judiciary Act on September 24, 1789, Washington was responsible for appointing the federal judiciary. Because there were no sitting justices at the beginning of Washington's term, he was responsible for nominating the entire first Supreme Court as well as appointing all federal judges to the district courts. Washington nominated John Jay as the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the Court's six justices met for the first time in February 1790., [Caption:] , John Jay, First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, 1794 by Gilbert Stuart. , Courtesy of National Gallery of Art.