There has been a lot in the news about the Senate’s role to “advice and consent” in confirming the president’s nominees for his cabinet.  Or is it “advise and consent”?  You hear people use both formulations about equally.  

If we want to be legal-beagles, we can look at the text of the Constitution itself, Article 2, Section 2, which is pretty unequivocal: 

“He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States…”

That’s not giving President Trump too much wiggle room.  It would seem he needs the permission of the Senate for his cabinet picks.  

It also solves our little grammar problem: It’s ‘advice and consent,’ not ‘advise and consent.’ 

The legal experts agree–Trump needs Senate approval for his picks.  Law Professor Andrea Katz explains: 

“According to the U.S. Constitution (Art. 2, §2), all Cabinet officers, after being chosen by the president, must be confirmed by the Senate. Traditionally, this means that the Senate will vet the president’s picks."

‘Advice’ is a lot less binding than ‘consent.’  Someone can give you advice, and you would say, Ok, man, thanks for the advice.  Then you can listen to them or maybe not.  Consent, on the other hand, means you need their approval–period.  Anyway, that’s the situation which Trump finds himself in with regards to his nominees, whose fates are precarious, and the Senate, many of whom find themselves inclined to exercise that “advice and consent” role.  

But back to the advice/ advise confusion: Clearly they’re from the same base word, advice being the noun and advise being the verb.  According to Merriam-Webster, ‘Advise’ means: 

1a: to give (someone) a recommendation about what should be done : to give advice to

The Senators often conceive of themselves as “advising,” the verb which indicates an action, rather than “giving advice,” which has a ‘take it or leave it’ connotation.  When you say, “I advise you to…” it sounds rather grave, that you have to do whatever it is they advise.  But when someone gives you advice, meh, thanks for your opinion.  

I’m sure Trump wishes it were that the Senators merely gave their advice on his nominations and left it at that.  Unfortunately for him and his supposedly controversial nominees, they are both on the hook to get the Senators’ consent, at least according to most interpretations of Article 2, Section 2. 

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