Political Quotes

“I rise because I am deeply concerned about President Obama's unconstitutional overstep of executive authority in the ostensible appointment of Richard Cordray as the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the CFPB, and three new members of the National Labor Relations Board. These unilateral, nonrecess appointments are a blatant abuse of power, one that threatens the very legitimacy of the confirmation process and essentially undermines Congress's critical responsibility to restrain the excesses of the executive branch. On January 4, mere weeks after this body had rejected Mr. Cordray's nomination, the President went ahead with his own agenda, disregarding our decision and the fact that the Senate was in pro forma session. Days later, unbelievably, the Obama Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel defended the move, essentially saying that pro forma sessions do not matter anymore; that the President can determine whether the Senate is in recess. Reversing years of precedent, the administration is asserting that the executive branch now has the authority to decide whether the legislative branch is or is not in session. This presumptuous action by the President goes far beyond the limited powers he is granted by our Constitution. It is an affront to the democratic checks and balances established by our Founders, and it constitutes a gross violation of precedents set by those who have come before us.…”