Professor Elizabeth Warren
Senate Republicans will prevent President Obama from making any recess appointments this week by keeping the Senate in pro forma session. Essentially, a Senate member from a nearby state will come in and briefly open and close the session on the days the Senate is scheduled to be in recess thereby preventing any business from occurring.
This is a blatant move to stop the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from even getting off the ground by blocking the appointment of Elizabeth Warren. If ever there were evidence that Republicans are squarely in the pocket of Wall Street, this is it. It is tantamount to a slap in the face of Democracy. If Republicans are intent on stopping the CFPB, then they should repeal it through the proper procedures and not these parlour tricks.
Perhaps Harry Reid should call the Democrats back into town early and see if they can get some legislation done while the Republicans are bluffing.
Related articles
- Senate Will Stay in Pro Forma Session, Blocking Recess Appointments (news.firedoglake.com)
- Senate Republicans: No Recess Appointments Over Holiday Break (blogs.wsj.com)
- Senate Republicans Block Recess Appointments (politicalwire.com)
- GOP blocks possible Warren recess appointment (cbsnews.com)
538 Refugees 
It is tantamount to a slap in the face of Democracy. If Republicans are intent on stopping the CFPB, then they should repeal it through the proper procedures and not these parlour tricks.
This type of recess appointment is a “parlour trick” in itself and a slap in the face to the intent of Article 2, Sect 2 of the Constitution.
From your Wiki link:
“It has been argued that as the clause was originally understood, it was expected that if the Senate was in session when an office became vacant, the president would make a standard advice-and-consent appointment at that time.[2] The argument further maintains that recess appointments were only to be made during intersession recesses, which during the early days of the country lasted between six and nine months, and were therefore required to prevent important offices from remaining unfilled for long periods. The current interpretation, this view holds, allows appointments to be made during recesses too brief to justify bypassing the Senate.
Historically, presidents tended to make recess appointments when the Senate was adjourned for lengthy periods.”
Why doesn’t the President just wait until the Senate is back in session???
What has happened to this site? It seems only Mr. U posts anymore. No more Fili, Mono, D.C. Mike W. etc. Also nobody comments anymore. Did I miss the memo?