recess appointment

14 Stories

Supreme Court: Obama Overstepped His Bounds

Court curtails president's ability to bypass Congress with recess appointments

(Newser) - The Supreme Court has just limited a president's power to make temporary appointments to fill high-level government jobs. The court ruled unanimously today that President Obama exceeded his authority when he invoked the Constitution's provision on recess appointments to fill slots on the National Labor Relations Board in...

Today's Supreme Court Case May Reverberate 'Centuries'

Justices consider Obama's recess appointments; weighty decisions loom this term

(Newser) - The Supreme Court isn't taking on a lot of cases over the next 100 days—in fact, this March, it will review just half its usual caseload, the Washington Post reports. But the cases it is examining are big ones. Today, for instance, the court is considering just when...

Supreme Court Deals Blow to Affirmative Action

Justices sent Abigail Fisher case back for review

(Newser) - The Supreme Court overwhelmingly struck down a lower court decision upholding the University of Texas at Austin's affirmative action program today, sending Abigail Fisher's case back to a lower court for review. The decision was 7-1, with only Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissenting (and Elena Kagan recusing herself). Anthony...

Court: Obama's Recess Appointments Are Invalid

Justice Department is expected to appeal to Supreme Court

(Newser) - A federal appeals court ruled today that President Obama violated the Constitution in making recess appointments last year, a decision could severely curtail the president's ability to bypass the Senate to fill administration vacancies. The three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals in DC said Obama did not...

Courts Could Nix Obama Recess Appointments

Courts may not want to say what constitutes a Senate session

(Newser) - Legal experts doubt President Obama's controversial "recess appointment" of Richard Cordray will hold up in court—including some experts who've sided with him in the past, the Hill reports. "It's untested ground," says one Harvard constitutional law expert. "If I were a judge,...

Obama Defies Congress With More Recess Appointments

He picks three for National Labor Relations Board

(Newser) - President Obama isn't winning much love among his political enemies on Capitol Hill today. Hours after making a controversial recess appointment to lead the new consumer protection agency, the president announced three more—this time to the National Labor Relations Board. The move will please the president's pro-union...

Barack Obama Bucks GOP, Will Appoint Richard Cordray Head of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
 Obama Will Appoint 
 Cordray Watchdog 
take that, gop?

Obama Will Appoint Cordray Watchdog

Bucks GOP with recess appointment

(Newser) - President Obama is thumbing his nose at Republican opposition and will today name a new US chief consumer watchdog: Richard Cordray. Yep, the same Cordray who Senate Republicans blocked early last month. Obama's decision to make a recess appointment is certain to cause an uproar—he's essentially declaring...

Obama's 6 Recess Picks Include AIG Consultant

President bypasses Senate on stalled appointments

(Newser) - President Obama bypassed the Senate yesterday to make six recess appointments, the most controversial being a deputy attorney general whose links to the insurance giant AIG had stalled his confirmation. Obama first nominated James Cole to the No. 2 Justice Department post in May, but GOP lawmakers blocked his confirmation...

Obama Uses Recess Appointments to Thwart GOP

Picks include two for labor board backed by unions

(Newser) - Barack Obama is using the presidential prerogative of recess appointments for the first time to bypass a Republican logjam in the Senate. Obama made 15 such appointments today, complaining that GOP senators were blocking his nominees to score "political points." The picks include two nominees backed by unions...

Senate Confirms 27 Obama Nominees


 Senate Confirms 27 
 Obama Nominees 
prez makes threat then...

Senate Confirms 27 Obama Nominees

Critics accuse GOP of 'blinking'

(Newser) - Twenty-seven Obama nominees were confirmed last night following a tense exchange between the president and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Critics accused McConnell and the GOP of "blinking" in the face of the president's threat to make recess appointments over the President's Day break. Republicans denied the claim, saying...

Harry Reid Changes Tune on Recess Appointments

Urges Obama to skirt GOP holds

(Newser) - Harry Reid thinks its time for Barack Obama to make some recess appointments, a procedural move the majority leader vehemently opposed when George Bush was in power. “What alternative do we have?” Reid said last week, exasperated over Richard Shelby’s move to place a hold on all of...

Senators Fly Solo, Foiling Bush Move

Seconds-long sessions continue, preventing recess appointments

(Newser) - A contentious Justice Department nomination lies behind Harry Reid's plan to keep the Senate in session over the holidays, if only for seconds at a time. Dems offered to give the White House a pass on a slew of other recess appointments in exchange for putting controversial terrorism expert Steven...

The Hill Has Recess, But It's No Fun

Seconds-long Senate sessions stave off controversial appointments

(Newser) - Democrats in Congress are keeping a watchful eye on President Bush and preventing him from making any appointments during the monthlong holiday recess. The strategy requires the Senate to be in session every couple of days—even if only for a few seconds. On Friday, the Politico reports, the Senate...

Swift Boater Gets Recess Appointment

Bush slips three controversial conservatives past Senate

(Newser) - President Bush doled out three major recess appointments yesterday to  conservatives Democrats found distasteful. Ambassador to Belgium went to Sam Fox, a top-tier donor to Republican causes including Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the 527 that sank John Kerry’s shot at the White House.

14 Stories
Most Read on Newser