Congressional Republicans’ refusal to confirm many of President Obama’s nominees should bolster the administration’s case that Obama can make temporary appointments when lawmakers take extended breaks from Washington, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Monday.
On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case about Obama’s controversial recess appointment to the National Labor Relations Board in 2011.
“This underscores another element of congressional dysfunction,” Earnest said. “There are critically important jobs that don’t have confirmed officials leading them, and that’s a significant problem when you’re talking about our counterterrorism strategy.”
Earnest cited the interim status of two nominees, Adam Szubin and Beth Colbert, as prime examples. Szubin is the Treasury Department’s acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. Colbert is the Office of Personnel Management’s acting director.
The administration is appealing a lower court’s ruling invalidating former NLRB General Counsel Lafe Solomon’s tenure.
The way the law “has been interpreted by some courts essentially suggests that individuals can’t do the job if they haven’t been confirmed by Congress,” Earnest said. “But yet, when you have as many examples as we have of Congress refusing to confirm individuals that are unquestionably qualified, you start to see the process break down.
“We certainly would appreciate a more conscientious Congress fulfilling their basic responsibility to make sure our government can work,” Earnest added.
