John J. Esch - Interstate Commerce Commission

Interstate Commerce Commission

On March 11, 1921, President Warren G. Harding appointed Esch to the Interstate Commerce Commission. The Senate did not act on the nomination before it recessed four days later so Harding granted Esch a recess appointment on March 21, and Esch took the oath of office on March 28, 1921. When the Senate reconvened in April, it confirmed Esch on April 18 by a vote of 52-3.

Esch was elected to serve as Chairman of the Commission for 1927, and on December 19, 1927, President Coolidge reappointed him to a second term. The Senate did not act before Esch's initial term expired at the end of 1927, so Coolidge granted Esch a recess appointment on January 3, 1928.

Esch's renomination before the Senate proved contentious. The major reason for this was a case which had come before the Commission involving Pennsylvania coalfields seeking preferential rates for the haul to Lake Erie ports. Esch initially voted in the minority, opposing the rates, but later switched his vote to the majority when the Commission reconsidered its decision. The change, and the decision, outraged Southern coal interests and their senators, who charged that Esch had switched his vote to secure his renomination by Coolidge. Esch denied any political consideration in his votes, citing new data submitted to the Commission and a Congressional resolution directing the Commission to take local economic conditions into consideration in making decisions as the reasons for his switch. The Senate rejected Esch's nomination by 39-29 on March 16, 1928, angering other commissioners, who felt that commissioners should be able to vote their consciences without fear of political repercussions. Esch's recess appointment ended with the close of Congress's term on May 29, 1928, and he left the Commission.