Whether the challenged decisions of the 'Acting' FHFA Director should be vacated because the Constitution does not permit the President to designate an 'acting' official to exercise the powers of a principal officer indefinitely without the advice and consent of the Senate

QUESTION PRESENTED In August 2009, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency resigned. The Senate did not confirm a successor for over four years. In the meantime, an individual—who was never nominated by the President nor confirmed by the Senate—served as “Acting” FHFA Director, exercising the full panoply of powers granted to that office. The Sixth Circuit held this extended acting tenure did not run afoul of the Appointments Clause, and thus upheld the “Acting” FHFA Director’s regulatory decisions. The question presented is whether the challenged decisions of the “Acting” FHFA Director should be vacated because the Constitution does not permit the President to designate an “acting” official to exercise the powers of a principal officer indefinitely without the advice and consent of the Senate.