Republican Senators Promise To Join Suit Against Obama Recess Appointments

WASHINGTON -- A group of 39 Republican senators signed on to a letter Friday promising to join lawsuits against President Obama's recent recess appointments of consumer finance watchdog Richard Cordray and three National Labor Relations Board members.

Obama made the appointments on Jan. 4 while senators were on their winter break, but were still holding "pro forma" sessions in order to prevent such appointments. The move broke precedent, but it was equally unprecedented for the House to refuse to let the Senate adjourn, or for senators to block a nominee because they don't like an agency -- in this case, the newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Republicans immediately charged that the move was unconstitutional, and are now promising to join the legal fight with a letter released Friday:

We the undersigned believe that President Obama’s January 4, 2012 recess appointments of individuals to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and National Labor Relations Board were unprecedented and unconstitutional. We intend jointly to file an amicus brief challenging the constitutionality of President Obama’s appointments to the National Labor Relations Board and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who announced the message, suggested Obama was attempting to take on royal powers.

“American democracy was born out of a rejection of the monarchies of Western Europe, anchored by limited government and separation of powers," he said in a statement. "We refuse to stand by as this President arrogantly casts aside our Constitution and defies the will of the American people under the election-year guise of defending them.”

The only Republican senators who did not sign the letter were Scott Brown (Mass.), who backed Cordray's appointment, Dean Heller (Nev.), Thad Cochran (Miss.), Olympia Snowe (Maine), Jeff Sessions (Ala.), Richard Shelby (Ala.), Roger Wicker (Miss.) and Mark Kirk (Ill.), who is currently recovering from a stroke.

Adam Jentleson, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), responded that if Republicans were to sign on to the lawsuits, they would be suing to help financiers.

"If Republicans want to file lawsuits to protect Wall Street, that's their business," Jentleson said. "Democrats would rather spend our time working to create jobs and help the middle class, and we hope that at some point Republicans will drop their obstruction and join us."

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[Christian Howell]

11:38 AM on 02/06/2012

OH SHUT UP. Every POTUS does it because of the gridlock. I hope you get censured.

[ennis438]

06:58 AM on 02/05/2012

Republicants sure have trouble making up their dense minds. Not only Mitt the Flip, but these senators, who remained totally silent when Bush the Terrible did recess appointments are now against these appointments, citing the Constitution (what a joke these rodents cite the Constitution after trying to destroy it over the last three decades.) Like deficit spending, also, their brain fields seem to be in disrepair. Nothing when Bush the Terrible was destroying the Clinton surplus, but now deficit spending is really dangerous. People are fools to vote for these rodents. COMPLETE IDIOTS.

[gdavidsalmeron]

04:08 PM on 04/16/2012

Good comment and I totally agree with you.

[Patriot 70]

04:50 AM on 02/05/2012

Olympia Snowe needs to impeach herself and then ask her local constituents to run her out of town on a rail.

[Theatrixnyc]

06:08 PM on 02/04/2012

"Things To Do When You're Stalling" - for $1,000 - Alex.."

[Aurical]

12:03 AM on 02/05/2012

Daily Double!

[Christian Howell]

11:41 AM on 02/06/2012

Their big problem is that businesses do need to hire and they will FOR THEIR BOTTOM LINE.

[madrediterra]

04:12 PM on 02/04/2012

Hey! Republicans! You want to obstruct the American people's business, you have to show up for, ahem, work.

[BPCentrisAmerican]

03:15 PM on 02/04/2012

“It's unconstitu­tional for an elected, or appointed official to pledge to anything except the Constituti­on concerning the general welfare of the country. Raising taxes and imposing tariffs is a Constituti­onal act, pledging otherwise to a private citizen, or group to do otherwise is an unconstitu­tional act.

Article 1 - The Legislativ­e Branch
Section 8 - Powers of Congress

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States....

patrick klocek
“OH MY LORD! YOU'RE RIGHT!!! If any of the senators renewed their wedding vows or got married while in office, we can impeach for that too!”

I'm nut sure if your trying be smart, or if your just stupid. Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises are the Constitutional duty of Congress. They square to do carry out that duty when they square to uphold the Constitution, not the political agenda of Grover Norquist. Republicans take the Norquist pledge a lot more serious than their Constitutional duty.

[RMIrby672]

08:06 PM on 02/04/2012

He was trying to be witty and failed miserbaly.

[rolor]

03:11 PM on 02/04/2012

Ahhhh... the GOP is always working hard at creating jobs for lawyers to fight against the very things they do when they're in charge because they know that posturing and frivolous law suits are important uses of taxpayer dollars.

[tenntileguy]

01:18 PM on 02/04/2012

WATCH ANOTHER REPUBLICAN DEBATE NEXT ON "THE TWILIGHT ZONE"

[BPCentrisAmerican]

03:59 PM on 02/04/2012

They live in "THE TWILIGHT ZONE"

[RGH3876]

01:03 PM on 02/04/2012

Lets See !! They are suing The President who was trying to protect the consumer.
Is it possible that their approval rating can even go down further ??

[BPCentrisAmerican]

04:00 PM on 02/04/2012

Yes.

[Sansculotte]

12:42 PM on 02/04/2012

Good. File a lawsuit to help protect the cheaters and liars who tanked the economy. Keep doing stuff like that. Please!
Oh - and then nominate Mr. "Corporations are people my friend".
Go right ahead and do all of that.
Please!

[Hardyman1966]

12:33 PM on 02/04/2012

It's interesting how this was never an issue in the past...

[tenntileguy]

01:20 PM on 02/04/2012

ITS LIKE THE REPUBLICAN PARTY FIGHTING OVER LAST 3 LIFE JACKETS ON THE TITANIC

[Hardyman1966]

01:21 PM on 02/04/2012

Well, at least they're doing SOMETHING (I guess.)

[Theatrixnyc]

06:10 PM on 02/04/2012

You just said a whole lot more than you realize...or maybe you knew just what you were saying. Either way, it's spot-on.

[DixieMelody]

12:32 PM on 02/04/2012

What became of "being about The People's business?"

The devastated lives of we citizens who pay their salaries are just so much collateral damage as they pursue their ONLY mission. . .

Ensuring that President Obama has only one term and that they make his life a constant living hell in the meantime.

[BPCentrisAmerican]

02:37 PM on 02/04/2012

Republicans with exception of Eisenhower haven't done the peoples business since TR.

[Eileen Left]

12:25 PM on 02/04/2012

Remember when Bush was in office and if you didn't agree with his policies you were emboldening our enemies?
I guess Republicans want to embolden predatory lenders.

[BPCentrisAmerican]

02:38 PM on 02/04/2012

Bankers are the true enemies, they have hurt more Americans since 9-11 than any terrorist.

[Aurical]

12:06 AM on 02/05/2012

Its the regressives, the bankers are only doing what they pay the politicians to make legal.

[Aurical]

12:05 AM on 02/05/2012

And they also said since we were at war you couldn't criticize the president or it would make the soldiers cry!

[rbrown5518]

12:22 PM on 02/04/2012

***Okay.... the country has high UN-employment, congress approval rating is near single digits, the housing market is not great, war, deficits, etc. AND these guys want to ALLOW the continued cheating-lying and stealing of US citizens!!
((This can't be true))

[BPCentrisAmerican]

02:41 PM on 02/04/2012

It is and even grass roots Republicans are getting it now, 60% of working Republicans make 30K, or less a year and they want the government to help them more than it's doing, so the morons who tr0ll don't even represent the sentiments of the average working Republican.

[Wmof2011]

12:07 PM on 02/04/2012

"recess - A temporary interruption of the Senate's proceedings, sometimes within the same day. The Senate may also recess overnight rather than adjourn at the end of the day. -Recess also refers to longer breaks, such as the breaks taken during holiday periods."

This definition means that a holiday break is a recess. And it does not have to be three weeks; it could be two hours of recess. But the House can only prevent a recess if it goes over 3 days. And if the Senate goes home to their families for more than 3 days, nothing can be done about that except to cry like babies.