Did you know? The Patriot Post is funded 100% by its readers. Help us stay front and center in the fight for Liberty and support the 2024 Year-End Campaign.

January 14, 2014

Obama’s Recess Appointments Under Scrutiny

The Supreme Court reviews the president’s abuse of executive power.

Ever since the beginning of the country, the executive branch has been making questionable appointments to further political ends. The Judiciary Act of 1801 allowed John Adams to make his (in)famous “midnight appointments” of federal judges in the waning days of his administration. The second, and last, Federalist president sought to pack the federal judiciary to disadvantage the incoming administration of Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson. One appointment, that of William Marbury, wasn’t recognized by Jefferson’s Secretary of State, James Madison, leading to one of the most important decisions in American jurisprudence, Marbury v. Madison, in which Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall established the principle of judicial review.

Monday once again saw a significant Supreme Court case – Noel Canning v. NLRB – and it centers on the legality of Barack Obama’s “recess” appointments to the National Labor Relations Board. The Constitution gives the president the power to appoint federal judges and officers with the “advice and consent” of the Senate with one exception – that the president “shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate.” Those appointments then last for the duration of the current Senate session.

But taking the position that it is both judge and jury, the administration argues it has the power to decide for itself when the Senate is in recess for purposes of making recess appointments, making it irrelevant whether the Senate considers itself to be in session or not. Obama’s expansive view of his own authority seems to include unlimited appointments power. George W. Bush never sought to make recess appointments during pro forma Senate sessions when the Senate technically gavels in and out to fulfill a constitutional requirement, but does not conduct any business. Obama’s actions go to the heart of separation of powers.

During oral arguments, leading originalist Justice Antonin Scalia went after U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, who took the position that the Constitution’s recess appointments clause is ambiguous enough to validate Obama’s temporary appointments. “It’s been assumed to be ambiguous by self-interested presidents,” Scalia retorted. Scalia argued that the text of the Constitution does not permit presidents to appoint individuals to government agencies during pro forma sessions. He suggested the power ought to be restricted to official recesses. Indeed, based on the tone of arguments Monday, the vote may even be 9-0 against Obama.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.