Politics
Obama’s appointment of Cordray during recess legal – Justice dept
President Barack Obama annouces Richard Cordray (R) as his nominee to be the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. PHOTO/UPI/Kevin Dietsch
The Justice Department is defending the legality of President Barack Obama’s recent recess appointment of a national consumer watchdog and other officials from criticism by Republicans.
The department released a 23-page legal opinion Thursday summarizing the advice it gave the White House before the January 4 appointments. Assistant Attorney General Virginia Seitz wrote that the president has authority to make such appointments during a congressional recess of the current length. Seitz argued the Senate’s periodic pro forma sessions in which no business is conducted have not enabled the chamber to advise and consent to regular nominations, as it is empowered to do under the Constitution.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has said Obama has endangered the nation’s systems of checks and balances, and Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch says the appointments are a very grave decision by an autocratic White House.
Senate Republicans have been using their ability to block or stall Senate confirmation of some regular nominees as a way to curb agencies they believe have taken or are poised to take actions they disagree with.
On January 4, Obama appointed Richard Cordray, a former attorney general of Ohio, to be the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Obama also appointed three members to the National Labor Relations Board that day. There was stiff Republican opposition to creating the new consumer agency, which was authorized in the financial regulation law, and Republicans have argued that the labor board has tilted toward unions under Obama’s Democratic administration.
Seitz heads the department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which is empowered to provide binding legal opinions to the executive branch.
Her new memo cites a Justice Department legal opinion from President George W. Bush’s Republican administration in justifying Obama’s recent appointments. The Bush administration opinion from 2004 says that a recess during a session of the Senate can meet constitutional requirements for permitting the president to make recess appointments as long as the recess is of sufficient length. The current recess is for 20 days. Seitz noted that the last five presidents have made recess appointments during recesses of 14 days or less.
