GOP senators pressure Reid on recess appointments

By Peter Schroeder - 02/02/12 04:55 PM ET

A group of 34 Republican senators are pressuring Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on "serious inconsistencies" in his positions on recess appointments.

The move comes as Republicans continue to push back against four recent recess appointments from the president, in which he ignored brief pro forma sessions of the Senate intended to block the moves. White House lawyers argued the sessions, which last just a few seconds, do not constitute legitimate Senate work and can be ignored, and Reid backed the decision.

But in a letter sent Thursday, the GOP lawmakers point out that it was Reid who originally pushed pro formas in a bid to block President George W. Bush from making recess appointments, beginning in 2007. Republicans accused Reid of putting politics above process in backing Obama's decision to ignore that type of session.

"It appears that you believe the importance of preserving Senate's constitutional role in the nomination and appointment process varies depending on the political party of the president," they wrote.

The lawmakers go on to ask if Reid would have found it constitutional if President Bush had ignored the pro formas, and if not, why it is acceptable for Obama to do so now.

"These are very serious matters," they wrote. "We hope that you share our view that neither party should undermine the constitutional authority of the Senate in order to serve a political objective."

Republicans have loudly cried foul over the president's decision to recess appoint Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), as well as three members to the National Labor Relations Board. They have contended it violates established congressional precedent, and will be subject to court challenges.

However, Democrats have maintained the move is justified, given the staunch GOP resistance to Cordray's nomination in particular. Most GOP senators vowed before Cordray was even nominated that they would block any nominee to head the new agency until several changes were made to its structure to make it more accountable to Congress.