5 U.S.C. § 3348
Section 3348 · Vacant office
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 32 court decisions — leading case Nat'l Labor Relations Bd. v. SW Gen., Inc. (2017)
Most recently applied in Joseph Fortin v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec. (August 2024)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) A vacancy caused by death or resignation may be filled temporarily under section 3345, 3346, or 3347 of this title for not more than 120 days, except that—
(1) if a first or second nomination to fill such vacancy has been submitted to the Senate, the position may be filled temporarily under section 3345, 3346, or 3347 of this title—
(A) until the Senate confirms the nomination; or
(B) until 120 days after the date on which either the Senate rejects the nomination or the nomination is withdrawn; or
(2) if the vacancy occurs during an adjournment of the Congress sine die, the position may be filled temporarily until 120 days after the Congress next convenes, subject thereafter to the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(b) Any person filling a vacancy temporarily under section 3345, 3346, or 3347 of this title whose nomination to fill such vacancy has been submitted to the Senate may not serve after the end of the 120-day period referred to in paragraph (1)(B) or (2) of subsection (a) of this section, if the nomination of such person is rejected by the Senate or is withdrawn.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Feb. 6, 1891, ch. 113, 26 Stat. 733. Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.
Amendments
1988—Pub. L. 100–398 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: “A vacancy caused by death or resignation may be filled temporarily under section 3345, 3346, or 3347 of this title for not more than 30 days.”