House closes first session of the 112th Congress, opens second session

Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-Ohio) on Tuesday formally closed the first session of the 112th, Congress just minutes before noon, and began the second session at noon.

Today's noon meeting was required under the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, which states that Congress must meet at least once each year, at noon on the third day of January.

LaTourette called for a prayer and led the House in the Pledge of Allegiance before closing the session and announcing the next meeting of the House will be 10 a.m. Friday, a pro forma session.

House Republicans last year stopped the usual practice of going into recess, in order to stop the Obama administration from making recess appointments. Under the Constitution, neither the House nor the Senate can go into recess unless both agree.

Some press reports said the Obama administration was considering a quick recess appointment of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). A recess appointment would have been possible today, in the few minutes between the first and second sessions of the 112th Congress.

However, the White House indicated it would not take this route, and no announcement was made of any recess appointment in the minutes after the second session started.

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