 The Appointments Clause thus functions as a restraint on Congress and as an important structural element in the separation of powers.Attempts by Congress to circumvent the Appointments Clause, either by making appointments directly, or through devices such as "unilaterally appointing an incumbent to a new and distinct office" under the guise of legislating new duties for an existing office, have been rebuffed by the courts.The Appointments Clause distinguishes between officers of the United States who must be appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate; and inferior officers specified by acts of Congress, some of whom may be appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate, but whose appointment Congress may place instead in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.