No. of Recommendations: 7
Occam's razor says the President isn't an officer. Officers are appointed, and the President isn't. Officers are not limited to those who are appointed. For example, the Speaker of the House is an officer who is not appointed by the President. Police Officers are not appointed by the U.S. President.
The Supreme Court has found the President is an officer. And the Congressional Record shows Congress views the President as an officer. The meaning of "officer" exists outside of the U.S. Constitution, and is commonly used and understood separate from that document. The ordinary use of "officer" does not include appointment by the U.S. President.
An officer is one who holds an office of trust, authority, or command. The President holds an office, and so is an officer.
An office is a position of authority to exercise a public function.
U.S. Supreme Court Nixon v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 731 (1982)
"Article II, § 1, of the Constitution provides that "[t]he executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States. ..." This grant of authority establishes the President as the chief constitutional officer of the Executive Branch"
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/457/73...U.S. Constitution
"The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office ..."
"In the mid-nineteenth century, as today, the president fell within the ordinary meaning of “officer.” Members of the 39th Congress, which proposed the Amendment, repeatedly referred to the president as an officer. Historically, the distinguishing feature of an “officer” is that they swore an oath."
https://www.theusconstitution.org/blog/responding-...
