Senate GOP will join legal challenge against Obama's recess appointments

Senate Republicans will join a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of President Obama's recess appointments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Miguel Estrada, a one-time GOP nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, will write an amicus brief on behalf of the Senate Republicans.

The case is Noel Canning v. NLRB in Washington state. The labor agency ordered the canning company to engage in collective bargaining, according to a senior Senate aide.

The plaintiffs contend the order is not lawful because the members of the board were recess-appointed, even though the Senate had scheduled frequent pro-forma sessions to block such presidential action.

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