President Obama Just Got His Recess Appointments Power Back

[alp227]

Source: Think Progress

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) office tells ThinkProgress that the Senate is now adjourned until Monday, July 8, with no “pro forma” sessions planned during the coming week. This is significant because these pro forma sessions, sham sessions where a single senator briefly gavels the Senate into session for a few minutes, are a legally controversial method the Senate uses to cut off the president’s recess appointment power. Without these sham sessions, President Obama’s power to recess appoint several officials currently being filibustered by Senate Republicans likely just roared back to life.

Admittedly, an unusually conservative panel of the conservative United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held earlier this year that the president’s recess power does not exist unless it is invoked during a very brief period that occurs once ever two years, among other things. This widely criticized opinion, however, is unlikely to be upheld by the Supreme Court because it would require the justices to retroactively invalidate literally hundreds of recess appointments in just the last several presidencies.

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/06/28/2232881/president-obama-just-got-his-recess-appointments-power-back/

[NewJeffCT]

1. good news, but when Obama makes recess appointments

it means that he's a Hitler-esque fascist-commie-socialist-atheist-radical pinko-Muslim dictator. When Bush or Reagan did it, it was perfectly okay.

[truthisfreedom]

2. He's not up for re-election, so he can do whatever the f*** he wants.

GoBama!

[NewJeffCT]

4. I know he's not up for re-election

but, if Obama opens the door for his wife with the wrong hand, it'll be another outrage for Fox News to use to gin up anger among the angry old white male base of the GOP.

[rtracey]

8. so

Since when does an liberal-democrat give a crap what the conservatives think.....let them moan....they will be moaning very loud come 2014.....

[southernyankeebelle]

11. Who cares what Fox News says. We the people voted for Obama and in our name he

has the power. Recess appointments continue please, Mr President.

[NewJeffCT]

16. well, the Obama White House does give a crap

they're the ones that fired Shirley Sherrod after Glenn Beck raised his voice about her.

[freshwest]

15. 'Hitler-esque fascist-commie-socialist-atheist-radical pinko-Muslim?' Hey, I resemble that remark!

Let 'em howl.

http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/06/05/gop-howls-over-expected-rice-appointment/

[Igel]

26. Or the other way 'round.

Remember the Democrats' pro forma sessions under *?

It was outrageous that * would have the unparalelled gall to appoint somebody without the Senate's advice and consent. Why, even a junior Senator from Illinois approved of pro forma sessions as a means of blocking recess appts., and many cheered the idea as the only One True Interpretation of the rules.

[hughee99]

33. God damn repuke hypocrites! When * made recess appointments,

they loved it, but they think it's wrong when president Obama does it. Thankfully, Democrats and DUers have been consistent on this issue supporting the presidents right to make these appointments no matter who the president was. I remember the DU from the * administration and no one was complaining about him making recess appointments.

[DainBramaged]

3. Let's hope the President doesn't want to be afraid of pissing the Pukes off once again

[cosmicone]

5. Grow a pair and a spine Mr. President

Don't bow down to the pukes.

[Plucketeer]

6. Maybe he won't be able

to find enough Republicans to appoint to various posts!

[Flying Squirrel]

17. +1 n/t

[AnotherMcIntosh]

29. +2

[msongs]

7. if they'd use their majority powers effectively they wouldn't need recess appointments nt

[Fla Dem]

9. First thing to do....appoint judges to United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia

then a lot of the cases being blocked by this conservatively packed court might see the light of day.

[Tx4obama]

19. That is NOT a good idea.

Recess appointments are 'not' permanent and federal judicial appointments are supposed to be lifetime appointments.

In order for a recess appointment to be made permanent it still must be confirmed by The Senate otherwise it expires at the end of the next congressional session.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

10. He's got some power back? Does this mean that he can close Gitmo?

Or is it still (notwithstanding the high-level Republicans
that he adopted for his Administration):

"It's all the Republicans' fault."?

[Arkana]

12. Why does everyone think that closing Guantanamo Bay

is as easy as opening the doors and letting everyone go?

[AnotherMcIntosh]

13. Everyone? You apparently don't. Nor does anyone else who wants him to use his Presidential powers

and his power as Commander in Chief to take action.

But since you mention the phrase "opening the doors and letting everyone go," he could actually do that.

[Igel]

27. No, actually, he couldn't.

He's not a dictator, however much people want the president to be a wimp when he's not in agreement with them and a full-on raging studly mega-Stalin when he *is* in agreement.

He's in a box. The box has grown over time as words have had their meanings changed, but he's in a box. It's rather constrained, by some accounts. He's only *given* certain powers, most of them not super. Many of those powers are constrained by rules that Congress laid down.

Many of his other powers are simply granted by Congress. He has them to the extent his leash allows him to have them--or to the extent he can tug on it without blatantly making himself out to be a liar and oath-breaker.

Even as it is he's found loopholes in laws. Like a 1000-page bill to grant limited powers wasn't enough, what you'll see are even longer, wordier, more complex laws to hem in presidents that don't have a clear majority in Congress. Because when people are greedy and grasping for power, any power, cooperation and unity are pretty much impossible.

So are most ethical principles.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

28. Yes, actually he could.

[okaawhatever]

14. Seems like a backroom deal was made for Reid to not change the filibuster rules. The Republicans

could easily hold pro forma sessions. If they're not, there's a clear reason. Since Reid gave a drop dead date of July 4th for filibuster change i'd say they have come to an agreement. Reid won't change the filibuster rules for appointments, and the republicans won't hold pro forma sessions
If the appointments don't garner the outrage of the press that previous appointments have, we'll know for sure that's what happened.

[Flying Squirrel]

18. lol

Harry Reid would never change the filibuster rules and the Republicans know it so there's no need for them to deal. There must be another reason.

[Tx4obama]

20. Btw, the SCOTUS will hear the issue of presidential recess appointments next term ...

High court to hear Obama recess appointments case
http://news.yahoo.com/high-court-hear-obama-recess-appointments-case-133614635.html

[AnotherMcIntosh]

30. Reid has his extraordinary power, in part, because high-level money people rely upon him to

choose other Senators to which they will direct money when the other Senators do what he makes known to them.

He's a money spigot for big-money people who make campaign contributions. That's how he holds his position.

When big money people want something done, it gets done. He's a go-between, although he doesn't carry the money himself. He simply indicates who is eligible to receive their money, or not.

To the extent that there is a backroom deal, the big money people agree amongst themselves. Reid does what they want. The Senators who want additional funding do what they want as well.

[Hulk]

21. A clear picture of what appointments to the Supreme Court can mean to the country..

All you have to do is take a look at the decisions the US Supreme Court has rendered recently, and it's extremely clear that the conservative junta has clout. "Corporations are people, my friend" and erosion of the Voting Rights Act are two sharp examples of what damage these thugs can do to the country.
I hate to admit this, perhaps, but I am hoping the health of one of these conservative thugs will fail in the next few years, so that either President Obama, or his predecessor - hopefully Clinton or another Democrat - can nominate someone who will NOT be a conservative, heartless, biased thug.

[Cha]

22. thanks alp.. we'll see what happens.

[Pterodactyl]

23. Recess appointments are awesome!

[Ash_F]

24. Some of Obama's appointments have been good, others lunacy

I wonder if he appoints right wing people as some kind of offering to pubs so they get off his back and let at least some moderate thinkers through.

[Igel]

31. If so, the President needs an advisor.

Most of his "offerings" haven't been anything wanted.

Some have been like offering a BBQ pork sandwich to the imam of a mosque as a good will gesture. It's an offering, all right, but not one that the imam appreciates. It's more likely going to be taken as an insult. Yet I've known people who would walk away offended by the refusal and taking it as a sign of hostility, failing to get past what they think is good to even consider that another might have a different perspective.

In other cases the "offerings" have been in exchange for concessions. Rather like my offering you the right to walk to get to your house, on condition that you let me have the title to your front yard for oil drilling for $5. It's an offering. Who couldn't use $5? And the only thing you ever do with your front yard is mow, weed, edge, and fertilize it--so I'm taking a white elephant off your hands.

The more convinced your way is the only right way, the harder it is to have empathy with people--except for people like yourself. Easy, cheap empathy isn't much to be proud of, and insulting people for not having the kind of empathy that's hard to develop isn't hard, either. Rather like condemning somebody for not benchpressing 300 lbs or not being able to perform simultaneous interpretation of Mandarin into Mixtec.

[Ash_F]

35. I don't think it is a great strategy either

I am hoping he learns before the end of his term that appeasement isn't working.

[former9thward]

25. The OP is incorrect from a legal standpoint for three reasons.

1) There have been two federal circuit court of appeals that have ruled the practice unconstitutional not just one as the OP implies. The 2nd circuit and the DC circuit have both ruled the practice unconstitutional.

2) This widely criticized opinion, however, is unlikely to be upheld by the Supreme Court because it would require the justices to retroactively invalidate literally hundreds of recess appointments in just the last several presidencies. This is false. As Post Supreme Court report Bob Barnes stated it: “Obama has used the recess appointments power fairly modestly compared with recent predecessors. But he went where no other president had gone in his appointment of the three NLRB members and his appointment of Richard Cordray to head the fledgling Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.” Obama made appointments when the Senate said it was in business but the White House claimed it was not. No other president has done this.

3) The Senate needs permission from the House to adjourn or recess. U.S. Constitution Article I, Section 5, part 4.

[Igel]

32. Check Thomas.

S. Con. Res. 19 provided for adjournment from 6/27 to 7/8/2013. Passed both House and Senate. Enrolled.

But I'd say there was a further problem with the OP. If a contract is made and fulfilled, with having it voided being impossible or resulting in no consequences, the matter's moot.

The finding in Lew that all students are due a free and appropriate education didn't suddenly grant generations of ELL students in the American school system either a free and appropriate education, a right to pursue financial remedies (which would have been substantial), or even the right to return to school for that education.

Current NLRB appointments could be re-done. But the effects of actions taken can't be undone, even if the actions by the current NLRB could be subject to reconsideration.

[former9thward]

34. Yes, if both Houses have ageed then it is a formal recess.

So Obama could make appointments during the time period. To your larger point. The NLRB is really a dysfunctional agency in my view. Every time an administration changes labor law shifts 180 degrees.