President Obama violated the Constitution last year by making appointments when the Senate was on break, a federal appeals court has ruled. The president named three members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by “recess” appointment in January 2012. Although the Senate was on vacation at the time, minority Republicans held pro forma sessions to keep the chamber active, solely to block Obama from using his recess appointment authority. Obama made the appointments anyway, an act the D.C. Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals last week ruled unconstitutional. The White House is expected to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
August 2 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include a tariff self-own, rough times at the Trump golf course, and more
-
5 inexcusably hilarious cartoons about Ghislaine Maxwell angling for a pardonCartoons Artists take on the circle of life, Ghislaine's Island, and more
-
Ozzy Osbourne obituary: heavy metal wildman and lovable reality TV dadIn the Spotlight For Osbourne, metal was 'not the music of hell but rather the music of Earth, not a fantasy but a survival guide'
