The appointment of Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and all acts he may take while in his post, are not worth the paper they are printed on. Barack Obama has rammed through a phony ‘recess’ appointment when there is no recess, and now he borders on being a tyrant. Obama cannot constitutionally pretend a recess into existence, and yet that is exactly what he has done. This has never been attempted before.
This is a clear and consistent pattern by Obama of acting as if the Constitution does not apply to him. This a dangerous pattern that is threatening to tear this country apart, and it’s his fault.
Congress, per its constitutional prerogative, has deliberately been in continuous session to block any recess appointments from being made by Obama. If Congress wills it, and it has, then there can be no recess. Any appointments made under this pretense, and all of their acts in office, will become constitutionally questionable as to whether a valid appointment was ever made.
In the latter years of the Bush Administration, congressional Democrats played the same game to keep Congress in continuous session in a move that effectively blocked recess appointments from being made. If the Obama Administration does not like it, it can propose amending the Constitution, but it cannot pretend Congress was in recess when it never was.
Bill Wilson is the President of Americans for Limited Government. You can follow him on Twitter at @BillWilsonALG.
