I seem to remember a few Bush recess appointees like...John Bolton!!
And when W did it...Congress was really out of session.
President Bush made 29 recess appointments when the Senate was adjourned for 14 days or less—including John Bolton, the controversial US Ambassador to the United Nations, who was blocked by Senate Democrats. ("
It's the wrong thing to do," said then-Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., about Bush's move. Things always look a lot different from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.)