quote:

Obama shames do-nothing GOP with 5 recess appointments

quote:

According to the Congressional Research Service, President Bill Clinton made 139 recess appointments. President George W. Bush made 171 recess appointments, and as of December 8, 2011, President Barack Obama had made 28 recess appointments.

quote:

The American people deserve to have qualified public servants fighting for them every day,”

quote:

What happens when the president makes a recess appointment when the Senate is not technically on recess?

Nobody knows.

But President Barack Obama’s decision to jam the Senate and install three labor nominees and a consumer watchdog without a confirmation vote raises unsettled legal questions that could have a long-lasting impact past his presidency.

“This is not a nice, clear-cut area at all,” said Robert Dove, a former Senate parliamentarian, when asked about the implications of the president’s move.

Legal experts said Wednesday that there was no precedent for such recess appointments and that it would likely be put to the test in the courts by industry groups seeking to challenge regulations issued by the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, whose new head, Richard Cordray, received an appointment even though the chamber was technically in session every few days.

Obama, they said, had effectively reasserted the power of the executive branch in the ongoing confirmation battles over the president’s nominees that have been dominated by the Senate during the past half decade.

But in concluding he had broad authority to install his appointments, Obama risks seeing other nominees bottled up by Senate Republicans who are privately vowing to retaliate against what they believe is a brazen power grab by the Obama administration. And if Republicans regain control of the Senate in the 2012 elections, it may be even harder for the president to win confirmation of controversial nominees if Obama wins a second term.

quote:

And if Republicans regain control of the Senate in the 2012 elections, it may be even harder for the president to win confirmation of controversial nominees if Obama wins a second term.

quote:

Obama derangement syndrome strikes again--Zorro is upset about the 4 recess appointments Obama made, but seems unconcerned about the 171 appointments done by George Bush.

quote:

Originally posted by Zorro:
Jeff goes dumb again. The Senate was not in recess.

quote:

Concluding that such pro forma sessions (which by design are not for conducting business) interrupt the recess of the Senate and thus prevent recess appointments would present a risk to separation of powers because it would allow the Senate unilaterally to frustrate the President’s exercise of a power granted him by the Constitution, which the Framers considered to be important to keep the government functioning by filling offices. Cf. McAlpin v. Dana, No. 82–582, slip op. at 14 (D.D.C. Oct. 5, 1982) (“[T]here is no reason to believe that the President’s recess appointment power is less important than the Senate’s power to subject nominees to the confirmation process.”).

quote:

Yes, it was

quote:

The Constitution says the Senate cannot recess for more than three days without the House's permission. The House has not granted permission, and as a result both houses have been holding pro forma sessions out of constitutional necessity.

There is an argument that pro-forma sessions are just a sham. Obama is not the first to make it. I don't find it very persuasive, but it's an argument that some very smart people make.

Yet in this particular case, in which the House has not consented to a Senate recess, the pro forma session does not seem to be the issue. The Constitution is the issue. Without the consent of the House to adjourn for more than three days, the Senate is in session, whether it wants to be or not.

quote:

I support extraordinary measures to combat extraordinary obstruction of the Constitutional process.

quote:

We're going to see the REAL Barry stand up and kick some butt!

quote:

Originally posted by Dr Chango:
Don't even talk about presidents taking time off. Bush set the record, and you never made a peep.

quote:

Originally posted by Zorro:

quote:

Yes, it was

No it wasn't.

quote:

Yes, it was

quote:

Yes, I support extraordinary measures to combat extraordinary obstruction of the Constitutional process.

quote:

The White House said what the Senate was doing - gaveling in and out of session every few days solely to avoid being in recess - was a sham. Obama's aides said the president would not be stopped by a legislative gimmick, even though it was Senate Democrats who began the practice to halt President George W. Bush's appointments.

quote:

Originally posted by CompGuy:
I count four recess appointments, not five...

quote:

According to the Congressional Research Service, President Bill Clinton made 139 recess appointments. President George W. Bush made 171 recess appointments, and as of December 8, 2011, President Barack Obama had made 28 recess appointments.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recess_appointment

Obama derangement syndrome strikes again--Zorro is upset about the 4 recess appointments Obama made, but seems unconcerned about the 171 appointments done by George Bush.

Jeff

488 recess appointments by CON presidents

167 recess appointments by DEM presidents