Justices skeptical of Obama’s recess appointment claim

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Washington Times:

Supreme Court justices took a dim view Monday of President Obama’s claim of almost unlimited powers to appoint top government officials, saying he appeared to be breaking with the founders’ vision of separation of powers between the branches of government when he tried an end-run around the Senate in 2012.

 

Both liberal and conservative justices seemed skeptical of the president’s claim, though they struggled with how far to go in deciding the limits of a president’s recess appointment power.

 

If they ruled narrowly, they could simply overturn Mr. Obama’s 2012 appointments by finding he tried to act when the Senate considered itself still in session. But the court could act more broadly and rule that the president’s recess powers only apply to a narrow set of positions that become vacant when the Senate has finished business for the year, and that the president can only fill those jobs during that same recess break.

 

Obama administration Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli urged the justices not to interfere with the system, saying that even if it violates the Constitution’s language, the executive and legislative branches over the decades have reached a balance that could be upset by the court’s intervention.

 

“We have, I would submit, an equilibrium that has emerged,” he said. “What we are advocating here is the status quo.”

 

He acknowledged that the recess appointment power has become a “safety valve” for the president.

 

But Justice Stephen Breyer said the administration is trying to use the recess powers as an end-run around senators who want to block appointments — something the justice said wasn’t part of the Constitution’s plan.

 

“I can’t find anything so far that says the purpose of this clause has anything to do with political fights between Congress and the president,” he said.

________

 

The King wants to keep his royal prerogatives...

 

[Geee]

White House 'confident' Supreme Court will uphold Obama's recess appointment power

 

The White House on Monday predicted the Supreme Court would uphold President Obama's ability to make recess appointments after justices expressed doubts about the president's use of such tactics.

 

“In our view, we're confident the courts will uphold the president's authority,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said during his daily briefing with reporters.

 

The Supreme Court earlier Monday heard arguments over the president's ability to fill senior posts while the Senate was in recess. The dispute stemmed from controversial appointments the president made to the National Labor Relations Board in 2012 while the upper chamber was not in session.

 

Sign Up for the Politics Today newsletter!

The nation’s highest court could dramatically rein in Obama’s authority to make appointments. Lower courts have already said Obama overstepped his authority in appointing members to the National Labor Relations Board during a congressional recess.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/white-house-confident-supreme-court-will-uphold-obamas-recess-appointment-power/article/2542079

[Geee]

Court frowns on Obama picks

 

The Supreme Court appeared Monday to disapprove of three recess appointments by President Obama in a case that tests the limits of executive power.

 

Nearly every justice on the nation's highest adjudicating body questioned the constitutionality of his 2012 National Labor Relations Board picks, which bypassed Senate confirmation.

 

Even Justice Elena Kagan, an Obama appointee and part of the court's liberal wing, said, "The history is entirely on the Senate's side, not your side."

Chief Justice John Roberts also defended the Senate’s role in approving nominees as an important check on presidential power, contending, “They have an absolute right not to confirm nominees that the president submits.”

At issue is whether Obama overstepped his bounds by making the appointments during a limited “pro-forma” session of the Senate, as well as when exactly presidents can install judges and fill top federal vacancies without the upper chamber’s consent.

The White House said Monday it remained “confident” that the Supreme Court would uphold the appointments.

http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-a-lobbying/195253-high-court-tackles-recess-appointments

[Geee]

Obama: I'm not waiting for legislation in 2014

 

President Obama Tuesday said he’s “not going to be waiting for legislation” from Congress to move forward on his agenda in 2014, further stoking a clash between both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue over the reach of executive power.

 

“I’ve got a pen, and I’ve got a phone,” Obama said before a Cabinet meeting at the White House Tuesday, issuing a challenge to GOP lawmakers who have blocked most of his second-term agenda.

 

Obama is hailing 2014 as a “year of action” after enduring the roughest 12-month stretch of his presidency.

 

However, the outlook for his top priorities, including immigration reform and progressive economic fixes, is hazy in the Republican-controlled House.

 

http://washingtonexaminer.com/obama-im-not-waiting-for-legislation-in-2014/article/2542138

[clearvision]

“I’ve got a pen, and I’ve got a phone,” Obama said

 

I'd like to tell Obama what he can do with his pen and phone, but I'm afraid I would be charged with a racial threat against the President.

[Geee]

 

“I’ve got a pen, and I’ve got a phone,” Obama said

 

I'd like to tell Obama what he can do with his pen and phone, but I'm afraid I would be charged with a racial threat against the President.

 

And an instant audit!!

[Draggingtree]

Supreme Court justices took a dim view Monday of President Obama’s claim of almost unlimited powers to appoint top government officials,

 

oh how that reminds me how the talk shows on the right continued to say the court will strike down the ACA untill C. J. Roberts use his pen to rewrite commerce clause section

[Draggingtree]

Will SCOTUS Reverse Obama’s Recess Appointment Power Grab?

January 15, 2014 by Matthew Vadum

Speculation is running rampant in the nation’s capital that the Supreme Court is poised to strike down three purported recess appointments that President Obama used to unconstitutionally manipulate federal labor relations policy.

 

During oral arguments in National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning on Monday, the justices seemed uncomfortable with Obama’s Jan. 4, 2012 overreach in which he recess-appointed three members to the NLRB without bothering to wait for the U.S. Senate to recess. Obama’s goal was to pack the under-staffed federal body with likeminded leftists

http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/matthew-vadum/will-scotus-reverse-obamas-appointment-power-grab/