Washington, DC- Congressman Steve King (R-IA) released the following statement after a Federal Appeals Court unanimously ruled that President Obama’s “recess” appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in January 2012 were unconstitutional. The decision also seems to suggest that President Obama’s appointment of Richard Cordray as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) at the same time was also unconstitutional.
“Whether by allowing ten states to miss the ‘No Child Left Behind’ deadline in exchange for reform plans, waving the welfare work requirements, or instituting the DREAM Act by executive fiat, President Obama has repeatedly violated the law and his oath and has taken the approach of ‘act first, ask later’ when it comes to the Constitution,” said King. “Today’s decision affirms what I said at the time: that President Obama, by attempting to use his recess appointment power to appoint members to the NLRB while the Senate was not in recess, was clearly violating his powers. Furthermore, this decision implicates the non-recess appointment to the unaccountable CFPB he issued at the same time.
These appointments by the President violated the Constitution and resulted in unnecessary uncertainty for the job creators that have to abide by these government bureaucrats’ rules and regulations. Obama knows better. Today’s court decision is a welcome one for government accountability, defenders of the Constitution and our nation’s system of checks and balances, and for the economy as a whole.”
