Bowsher v. Synar

The comptroller general, Charles Bowsher (defendant), was the head of the Government Accountability Office. Under a 1921 statute, Congress could use a joint resolution, with presidential approval, to remove the comptroller general for grounds such as a neglect of duty or inefficiency. Congress could also remove the comptroller general through impeachment. In 1985, Congress passed a budget act to reduce the federal deficit. The act gave the comptroller general authority to select which budget cuts to make in order to reduce the deficit. The president was required to mandate these spending cuts, and the cuts would go into effect unless Congress intervened with overriding legislation. Anticipating legal challenges, Congress created a fallback provision that eliminated the comptroller general’s role in selecting the budget cuts if the role was invalidated. After the budget act was passed, Congressman Mike Synar and others (plaintiffs) sued Bowsher. They argued that the 1921 statute allowed Congress to remove the comptroller general using a process short of impeachment, while the budget act tasked the comptroller general with executive duties. Therefore, they alleged, the comptroller general’s budget-cutting role was unconstitutional because it was unconstitutional for Congress to have the power to remove an official performing executive duties using any process short of impeachment. A three-judge panel of the federal district court in the District of Columbia ruled that the act was unconstitutional. Bowsher appealed to the United States Supreme Court.