On the recordJuly 28, 2014
Chief Justice Rehnquist, in an opinion in 1997, Raines v. Byrd, made the point that individual Members of Congress do not have standing to bring lawsuits in court if they cannot point to a particularized or personal injury, which the GOP in this case will not be able to do because the injury that is being claimed relates to policy disputes, such as the ACA and the employer mandate, such as DACA, and such as the welfare work requirements. These are broad policy disputes, not particularized injuries. The Court went on to point out that, if one of the Members of Congress were to retire tomorrow, he would no longer have a general claim. The claim would be possessed by his successor instead. The claimed injury--referring to policy disputes--attaches to the Member's seat, a seat which the Member holds as trustee for his constituents, not as a prerogative of personal power. In other words, there is no standing for Members of Congress to bring a lawsuit against the President in the context of a policy dispute.
