Sen. Moran Statement on Supreme Court Decision to Review Constitutionality of President Obama's "Recess" Appointments

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) released the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruling on presidential recess appointments:

"The Supreme Court today agreed with Senate Republicans to review the constitutionality of the President's "recess' appointments, and the decision validates my concerns with the alarming pattern of overreach by the Obama Administration. Whether it's the Environmental Protection Agency's Cross State Air Pollution Rule or the Department of Labor's Farm Labor Rules, this Administration continues to side step the role of Congress when they find it politically expedient. I look forward to the Supreme Court evaluation, and remain hopeful that the Administration will choose to put both the U.S. Constitution and best interests of Americans first."

The legal controversy with the appointments is tied to whether brief Senate breaks called pro-forma sessions, which Congress states are not formal recesses, are in fact recesses. The federal court of appeals ruled that the only congressional break that counts as recess is the one that occurs between formal, year-long sessions of Congress. Even then, the president may only fill vacancies that come open while the Senate is in recess.

A Supreme Court ruling against President Obama could nullify all the National Labor Relations Board and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Board decisions since January 2012.

In May, Sen. Moran joined 44 Senate colleagues in filing an Amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court in a challenge (Noel Canning v. NLRB) to the constitutionality of President Obama's recess appointments in January 2012.

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