John Boehner Acts to Bring a Renegade President Back under Constitutional Control

After months of pressuring House Speaker John Boehner to find a way to force President Obama to work normally with them instead of acting by executive order, the Republican House Caucus finally had good news today. Boehner confirmed Wednesday that he intends to sue President Obama in the long-running dispute between the administration and congressional Republicans over the scope of the administration's executive authority to enforce laws. Boehner told reporters : "The Constitution makes it clear that a President's job is to faithfully execute the laws. In my view, the President has not faithfully executed the laws." Boehner also said : "Congress has its job to do and so does the President. And when there's conflicts like this between the legislative branch and the administrative branch, it's in my view our responsibility to stand up for this institution in which we serve." Boehner can use his authority as Speaker to convene the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, a five-member legal panel appointed by GOP and Democratic House leaders, but weighted towards the majority. BLAG has authority to direct the US House Office of General Counsel, to participate in litigation and to represent the US House itself. The group consists of Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Majority Whip/Majority Leader-Elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and the Minority Whip  Steny Hoyer. Boehner, Cantor and McCarthy are Republicans. Pelosi and Hoyer are Democrats. Only a simple majority is required for BLAG to authorize action, and Boehner is expected to bring legislation to the floor after the Fourth of July recess to authorize the House to file the lawsuit. ~~~~~ The proposed lawsuit has the potential to test the constitutional balance between the legislative and executive branches. Republicans have long maintained that the White House has overstepped its legal authority by subverting laws approved by Congress on a number of matters. It is unclear which executive actions Boehner will challenge, but in recent years Republicans have protested executive actions halting the deportations of immigrants illegally residing in the United States, delaying enactment of certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), raising the minimum wage for federal contractors and actions to expand gay rights and close the gender pay gap. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama would prefer to work with Congress, but "where necessary, he is willing to take action on his own using the executive authority that's vested in the presidency." Earnest was dismissive of Boehner’s lawsuit, suggesting it’s “not something that’s going to consume the attention of the White House. The fact that they are considering a taxpayer-funded lawsuit against the President of the United States for doing his job, I think, is the kind of step that most Americans wouldn’t support,” Earnest said. “I think what most Americans would say is they want their leaders in Washington, DC, to make progress on behalf of the American people.” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called the effort "subterfuge" because Republicans need "some aura of activity" in a log-jammed Congress. ~~~~~ Speaker Boehner said the lawsuit is not about impeachment but rather is about standing up for Congress when the White House has overstepped its boundaries and encroached on the duties of the legislative branch. “This is about defending the institution in which we serve,” Boehner said. “What we’ve seen certainly over the last five years is an effort to erode the power of the legislative branch." He said he had not yet decided what specific executive actions would be included in the lawsuit, although House Republicans have accused Obama of overstepping on everything from overextending environmental regulations to bombing Libya without congressional approval to ignoring immigration laws to making illegal "recess appointments" during periods in which Congress was not actually in recess. Congress and the executive branch regularly clash over the extent of their powers, but Mr. Obama has been more obvious than previous Presidents in welcoming the chance to circumvent Congress. When Congress has deadlocked on his priorities, Obama has tried to fill the breach by issuing executive orders or administrative procedures that go at least part of the way to carrying out his wishes without congressional approval, using what he terms his "pen and phone" authority. ~~~~~ Boehner did not detail his plans at the press conference, but sent a detailed memo to House Republicans later on Wednesday. In it, he said he plans to bring legislation authorizing the suit to the House floor in July, citing concerns that Obama's executive actions could shift the "balance of power decisively and dangerously" in favor of the White House -- giving the President "king-like authority." In the memo, Boehner cited concerns over policies on health care, energy, foreign policy and education. "On one matter after another during his presidency, President Obama has circumvented the Congress through executive action, creating his own laws and excusing himself from executing statutes he is sworn to enforce -- at times even boasting about his willingness to do it, as if daring the America people to stop him," he wrote. The decision to sue still would have to be formally approved by BLAG, and then the House. The plaintiff would be the House of Representatives. ~~~~~ Dear readers, Speaker Boehner is beginning a legal process in which the fundamental structure of the United States under its Constitution will again be examined. The separation of powers is the key to the constitutionally balanced operation of the American federal government and to the protection of the personal freedom and liberties of its citizens. Article I, Section 8 gives the Congress broad and detailed powers over taxation, budgets, executive appointments and program suggestions, commerce and war -- because the Congress and especially the House of Represrntatives, being popularly elected by voters in state districts, is the closest to American citizens, who can remove them every two years. The executive branch led by the President basically proposes programs and asks Congress to enact and finance them through the congressional lawmaking power. Even the President's role as Commander-in-Chief is subject to congressional approval of declarations of war and providing war financing. It is easy to see how great has been the slippage of power toward the President, unconstititionally denying Congress - and the American people it represents - its right and duty to balance executive action with congressional budgeting, lawmaking and oversight. John Boehner is trying to rebalance the constitutional separation of powers to give back to Congress its fundamental powers. A federal court, perhaps the Supreme Court in a case placed directly before it, must first decide it can act to resolve a constitutional question not otherwise solvable, and then decide where executive constitutional power must stop in order to preserve the constitutional powers of Congress. Speaker Boehner's use of the term "king-like authoriry" is correct - it is exactly what the Founders feared in giving a President largely undefined powers - that a President acting in bad faith would become a king, suppress Congress, and appoint judges to his non-republican liking. America should support John Boehner, who is taking the high road to preserve the Constitution and bring a renegade executive branch back under control.