Obama's Sham Constitutionalism | Roger Pilon | Cato Institute: Commentary

Obama's Sham Constitutionalism | Roger Pilon | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'Article 1, Section 5 says that "Neither House ... shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days" — and the Republican-controlled House did not consent, precisely to block the president from making recess appointments, just as the Democratic Congress did in November 2007 and for the rest of George W. Bush's presidency.'

'as Professor John Yoo noted yesterday, "it is up to the Senate to decide when it is in session or not." Consistent with the separation of powers, "the President cannot decide the legitimacy of the activities of the Senate any more than he could for the other branches, and vice versa."'

'These vacancies did not "happen during the Recess of the Senate." They happened when the Senate was in session, and the nominees for them were before the Senate when it was in session.'