Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court pose during their formal group photograph in the East Conference Room of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Nov, 30, 2018. Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in cases that might not get as much attention as the culture-war smorgasbord on the docket this term, but that implicate billions of dollars and, even more important, the vitality of our system of government. That’s what’s ultimately at stake in the five cases consolidated under the technocratic name Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico v. Aurelius Investment.
The cases arose from the restructuring of Puerto Rico’s public debt under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act of 2016 (“PROMESA,” the Spanish word for “promise”), which created a seven-member Financial Oversight and Management Board. PROMESA’s practical effect was to require the president to select the board’s members from nonpublic lists submitted to the president by House and Senate leaders, without subjecting those appointments to Senate confirmation. The president ultimately agreed to Congress’ directive and chose six board members from that secret list, plus one member himself. None of these appointees were ever subject to Senate confirmation.
