" The first clause of the bill, after recapitulating
the functions of that officer and defining his duties, had these words:
"To be removable from office by the President of the United States."
It was moved to strike out these words and the motion was sustained
with great ability and vigor. It was insisted that the President could
not constitutionally exercise the power of removal exclusively of the
Senate; that the Federalist so interpreted the Constitution when arguing
for its adoption by the several States; that the Constitution had
nowhere given the President power of removal, either expressly or by
strong implication, but, on the contrary, had distinctly provided for
removals from office by impeachment only.
A construction which denied the power of removal by the President was
further maintained by arguments drawn from the danger of the abuse of
the power; from the supposed tendency of an exposure of public officers
to capricious removal to impair the efficiency of the civil service;
from the alleged injustice and hardship of displacing incumbents
dependent upon their official stations without sufficient consideration;
from a supposed want of responsibility on the part of the President, and
from an imagined defect of guaranties against a vicious President who
might incline to abuse the power.
Pages:
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450