The provision for recess appointments is a horribly outdated relic from a time when the Senate would be out of session for months at a time with no way to reconvene quickly when, say, a critical post was suddenly left vacant. Now it's useful mostly as a cynical procedural ploy, seen here being countered with another cynical procedural ploy. Fighting fire with fire, I guess... Or maybe a shit hurling monkey metaphor would be more appropriate.