New England Biz Law Update
The U.S. Department of Justice has ruled that President Barack Obama’s recess appointments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and National Labor Relations Board were legal.
The president made the appointments despite efforts by Republican lawmakers to block recess appointments by gaveling in short pro forma sessions every three days over the holiday break.
“[T]he President has the authority under the Recess Appointments Clause to make appointments during this period,” said the 23-page opinion from the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel. “The Senate could remove the basis for the President’s exercise of his recess appointment authority by remaining continuously in session and being available to receive and act on nominations, but it cannot do so by providing for pro forma sessions at which no business is to be conducted.”
The appointments of Richard Cordray as director of the CFPB and of three members to the NLRB — preventing the board from falling below its statutory quorum, which would have rendered it unable to act — have been the subject of controversy and the basis of lawsuit threats from congressional Republicans and business groups.
