Powers of the President of the United States for fourteen years to ensure agency independence. The president also appoints members to the boards of directors for government-owned corporations such as Amtrak. The president can also make a recess appointment if a position needs to be filled while Congress is not in session. In the past, presidents could appoint members of the United States civil service. This use of the spoils system allowed presidents to reward political supporters with jobs. Following the assassination of President James Garfield by Charles J. Guiteau, a disgruntled office seeker, Congress instituted a merit-based civil service in which positions are filled on a nonpartisan
Charles J. Cooper commercial, and civil rights litigation. Cooper led the legal team for the defendant-intervenors in "Hollingsworth v. Perry," defending California Proposition 8 in 2008, which banned same-sex marriage in the state. He argued this case before the US Supreme Court. Charles has been retained by Attorney General, Jeff Sessions for counsel in response to the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. Charles J. Cooper Charles 'Chuck' J. Cooper (born 1955) is an appellate attorney and litigator in Washington, D.C., where he is a founding member and chairman of the law firm Cooper & Kirk, PLLC. He was named by