[This post, which is co-authored with Professor Seth Barrett Tillman, continues from the first installment.]
Response #2: The 1793 Hamilton list was not limited to Senate-confirmed positions
Professor Shugerman speculates that the President and Vice President were not included on the list because the "Senate didn't confirm those [two] offices." The Sinecure Clause does not merely apply to those principal officers confirmed by the Senate. The text applies to those who hold "civil office under the Authority of the United States." This category would also include inferior officers, who are not Senate confirmed, as well as appointed positions in Congress, such as the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate. Indeed, the House and Senate would have better records than Hamilton about House and Senate officers who drew compensation from the legislature. Moreover, the 1793 Hamilton document includes many more than a few appointees who were not confirmed by the Senate. Such appointees included positions entirely outside the Executive Branch, e.g., appointees in the legislature, such as the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate, and clerks of the federal courts. Shugerman's speculation is entirely disconnected from the text of the document he seeks to understand.
