The President is not only planning to campaign against Congress. He is evidently going to govern against Congress as well. He has said that he is going to start implementing his programs by executive order. Now he has pulled something that seems to me to be extremely radical.
As a way to get around Congressional refusal to approve some people he has wanted to appoint to office–including someone to head an especially controversial new consumer protection bureau–he made three “recess” appointments, a maneuver that allows the executive to appoint people provisionally when Congress is not in session. The problem is, Congress is still in session! They are not in recess! But he has appointed these officials anyway, even though the law requires Congressional ratification!
Does this constitute a coup? A constitutional crisis? An impeachable offense?
How can this possibly be defended under the rule of law? (“They won’t approve my nominees” is not reason enough, since that is always a possibility if Congress has the authority to ratify appointments or not. Nor is “Congress is dysfunctional.”)
Obama defies Congress with ‘recess’ picks – Washington Times.
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