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.
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