Reversing the district court, the First Circuit threw the Puerto Rico debt restructuring into a cocked hat by declaring that the appointment of the members of the Financial Oversight and Management Board of Puerto Rico violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution because they were not nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, according to an analysis in yesterday's <em>Rochelle's Daily Wire</em>. The appeals court attempted to limit damage by declaring that the ruling will not go into effect for 90 days, allowing the President and the Senate in the meantime to validate the appointments to the Board or to reconstitute the Board in accordance with the Appointments Clause. Relying on the de facto officer doctrine, the First Circuit ruled that its opinion would “not eliminate any otherwise valid actions of the Board prior to the issuance of our mandate in this case.” In other words, the appeals court is allowing the Board to continue functioning for 90 days and will not unravel any actions already taken by the Board.
