Miller Praises DC Court of Appeals Ruling: "The Constitution Must be Followed"

WASHINGTON - U.S. Representative Candice Miller (MI-10) today released the following statement after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found that President Obama violated his appointment power established in the Constitution by making recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) when the U.S. Senate was not actually in recess.  Miller said:

"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today sent a strong message that the President is not above the ultimate law of our land, the Constitution.  Chief Judge David Sentelle said it very succinctly in the unanimous ruling, `Allowing the President to define the scope of his own appointment power would eviscerate the Constitution's separation of powers.'  Our Founding Fathers when drafting our Constitution required the President to secure the advice and consent of the Senate for certain appointments to the government for very important reasons; foremost among them to prevent the abuse of power by any President.

"The court ruled that the appointments made by President Obama to the NLRB are constitutionally invalid.  Because of this, the board no longer has a quorum and cannot conduct business unless the decision is stayed pending appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.  It also calls into question whether all of the decisions that the board has made since these unconstitutional appointments are invalid.  This abusive overreach by President Obama has now thrown the important work of the board into uncertain territory.  President Obama must respect the limits on his power enshrined in the Constitution and work appropriately with the Congress on all matters required by the Constitution to conduct the business of our nation."