According to Fox News and other media outlets on Friday, the United States Court of Appeals in the District of Columbus Circuit Court ruled that the recess appointments made by President Barack Obama were indeed unconstitutional.
The issue stems from a January 4, 2013 incident in which President Barack Obama appointed three persons as members of the National Labor Relations Board. In spite of the fact that the United States Senate was in session on that date and has the constitutional right and authority to approve such appointments, the president acted as though the U.S. Senate was in recess and made his appointments without congressional approval. The U.S. Senate was clearly back in session by the day before the Obama appointments, returning from their holiday break on January 3, 2013.
The U.S. Court of Appeals in the D.C. Circuit said that considering the text, history, and structure of the Constitution, these appointments were invalid from their beginning.
The three persons who were unconstitutionally appointed by Obama but now are not on the National Labor Relations Board are Deputy Labor Secretary Sharon Block, union lawyer Richard Griffin, and NLRB counsel Terence Flynn. Block and Griffin are Democrats and Flynn is a Republican.
Comments