Through the GAO, the Deep State Chooses Government Leaders

 In 2020, the Government Accountability Office ruled that Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and Ken Cucinelli, senior official performing the duties of the deputy secretary, were both "Serving illegally," according to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.

Democrat Reps Bennie Thompson and Carolyn Maloney charged that "GAO's damning opinion paints a disturbing picture of the Trump administration playing fast and loose by bypassing the Senate confirmation process to install ideologues."

In February, the GAO ruled that appointees at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of Management and Budget, Office of Violence Against Women, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, and the Agency for International Development were "Serving unlawfully." The GAO was not concerned whether appointees were performing their duties effectively, and it was all a matter of labeling.

ICE simply changed "Acting director" Tae Johnson to "Senior official performing the duties of director," and ICE was no longer in violation of the Vacancies Act.

Then on September 21, GAO general counsel Edda Emmanuelli Perez ruled that the Vacancies Act's time limitations did not apply to Su's service, so she could remain atop the labor department without Senate confirmation.

In effect, the GAO functions as a supreme court for the federal bureaucracy, and the Vacancies Act as an ersatz constitution.

The Act should be amended to ensure that destructive ideologues such as Julie Su cannot serve without Senate confirmation.

https://spectator.org/through-the-gao-the-deep-state-chooses-government-leaders/