Article II of the US Constitution is relatively straightforward. It states that the president ‘shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to… appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States’.
The appointments process has become increasingly fraught and, as a result, it has slowed down. This means that positions remain unfilled for long periods. Whereas the average confirmation time for uncontroversial nominees to the Circuit Courts of Appeal (the tier below the US Supreme Court) was 64.5 days under Reagan it has been 227.3 days under Obama:
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