recess appointment

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A political appointment of a government official made by the US president while Congress is in recess.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun US, law The appointment by the President of the United States of a person to an office that normally requires approval of the United States Senate, but who is appointed without such approval because the Senate is in recess.