US Sup.Ct. Slip Op. of June 27, 2025
Ruling: All of the federal Constitution’s formal requirements for the valid appointment of “inferior Officers” of the United States, contained in the Appointments Clause of Article II, Section 2, are met by the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ appointment of members of the United States Preventative Health Task Force. The Court held, 7-3, that the following elements of the Appointments Clause are so met: “the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers , as they think proper . . . in the Heads of Departments.” U.S. Const., Article II, §2. The dissenting Justices, Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch, argued that the “by Law” component and the “inferior Officers” component of that language are not met under the current and the recently followed protocols for “convening” the U.S. Preventative Health Task Force. The basic effects of the Court’s holding are 1) the legal validation of recent Task Force resolutions, and 2) the subjection of each Task Force member to termination of his or her position without cause by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
RECENT RULINGS 