Lee: “…Is this [constitutional] analysis undertaken each time the president issues an executive order and…was it undertaken when the president, for example, announced on July 2nd , 2013, that he would not be enforcing the employer mandate of the Affordable Care Act…?”
Holder: “…Those kinds of activities are done after consultation with the Justice Department and an analysis is done to make sure the President is acting in an appropriate and a constitutional way…”
Lee: “In which of those three categories would you put the president’s decision to delay the employer mandate?”
Holder: “To be honest with you, I have not seen – I don’t remember looking at or having – I haven’t seen the analysis in some time so I’m not sure exactly where along the spectrum that would come…”
Lee: “How about the executive order he proposed last night with regard to minimum wage?”
Holder: “Um, again, without having delved into this to any great degree that would-“
Lee: “But you’re the Attorney General. I’m assuming he consulted you.”
Holder: “Well, there have been consultations done with the Justice Department…”
Lee: “It would be very helpful for you to release legal analysis produced by the Office of Legal Counsel, or whoever is advising the President on these issues…”
Holder: “…[The president] has made far less use of his executive power at this point in his administration than some of his predecessors have and he will only do so, as I indicated previously, where he is unable to work with Congress to do things together…”
Lee: “General Holder, I respectfully but forcefully disagree with the assertion, if this is what you’re saying, that because the number of orders issued by this president might be comparable to the number of executive orders issued by previous presidents that that means he hasn’t made more use of it then other presidents have. When you look at the quality – not just the quantity, but the quality – the nature of the executive orders that he has issued, he has usurped an extraordinary amount of authority within the executive branch. This is not precedented. And I point to the delay – the unilateral delay – lawless delay, in my opinion, of the employer mandate as an example of this.”
