Reassigning a member of the President's Cabinet to another Cabinet position

Recently there has been speculation in the media that should the incumbent Attorney General be dismissed or the position otherwise becomes vacant, the President could appoint another member of the Cabinet to the position without having to submit the nomination to the Senate for its advice and consent.* {see Article II.2.2 of the Constitution of the United States. It appears that such an effort would unconstitutional except with respect to a "recess appointment" as was demonstrated during Andrew Jackson's presidency. Roger B. Taney, then serving as President Jackson's Attorney General [1831-1833] was appointed to, and then held, a recess appointment as Secretary of the Treasury [1833-1834]. Jackson subsequently nominated Taney to become Secretary of the Treasury, an appointment necessarily to be "by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate." The Senate, however, did not consent to Taney's nomination.**This scenario suggests that…

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