{"id":2001,"date":"2012-01-10T12:26:08","date_gmt":"2012-01-10T17:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/?p=2001"},"modified":"2012-01-10T12:26:08","modified_gmt":"2012-01-10T17:26:08","slug":"jay-sekulow-opposition-growing-to-obamas-non-recess-appointments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/01\/jay-sekulow-opposition-growing-to-obamas-non-recess-appointments.html","title":{"rendered":"Jay Sekulow: Opposition Growing to Obama’s “Non-Recess” Appointments"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It’s an issue that has struck a constitutional chord with the American people and a growing number of members of Congress. The issue: President Obama’s overreach last week in making appointments to federal agencies – appointments that bypassed the Senate – appointments that violated the separation of powers.<\/p>\n

In just a few days, we have heard from more than 35,000 Americans<\/a> who have signed on to our petition\u00a0rejecting these unconstitutional appointments and urging the President to retract them.<\/p>\n

At the same time, all Republican Senators of the Senate Judiciary Committee have signed on to a letter to Attorney General Holder expressing concern that President Obama has “deviated from over 90 years of precedent” established by the Justice Department. In that letter, posted here<\/a>, the eight Republican Senators on the Judiciary Committee want to know what involvement, if any, did the Attorney General have in advising the President concerning these appointments.<\/p>\n

Here’s the problem. These appointments have been made outside the Constitution – a move that ignores a century of precedent – a move that is simply unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

No one questions the fact that Presidents have the authority to make recess appointments. But those must occur when the Senate is in recess, which is clearly not the case here. In an earlier post<\/a>, I provided a detailed analysis that clearly spells out what is required according to the Constitution.<\/p>\n

As I wrote just a few days ago:<\/p>\n

Article 1, Section 5 of the Constitution provides that “Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings.”<\/em> This includes the right to determine when to recess. Decades of legal precedent and accepted practice — by both political parties — is that consent from both chambers of Congress is required for any recess to take place, and absent such consent, each chamber must continue to meet. That is precisely what has been occurring over the last few weeks. No recess resolution has been agreed to; both the House and the Senate have been gaveling in for just a few moments of a Pro Forma session every few days, effectively blocking President Obama\u2019s ability to make recess appointments.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In fact, many of you have asked about the exact days that the House and Senate have gaveled into Pro Forma session, thereby indicating that a recess has not occurred. In the House, a full schedule was being conducted up until December 21, 2011. Pro Forma sessions were conducted on December 23, 27 and 30, 2011, and on January 3 and 6, 2012. In the Senate, a full schedule was conducted up until December 17, 2011. Pro Forma sessions were conducted on December 20, 23, 27 and 30, 2011, and on January 3 and 6, 2012. Keep in mind that Sunday remains a non-legislative day in the U.S. House and Senate. President Obama\u2019s controversial “non-recess appointments” were made on January 4, 2012.<\/p>\n

It’s time for President Obama to abide by the Constitution and the rule of law. Stand with the ACLJ now and make a difference. Sign on to our petition<\/a> rejecting this unconstitutional maneuver and urge the President to put the Constitution ahead of politics.<\/p>\n

Jay Sekulow<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s an issue that has struck a constitutional chord with the American people and a growing number of members of Congress. The issue: President Obama’s overreach last week in making appointments to federal agencies – appointments that bypassed the Senate – appointments that violated the separation of powers. In just a few days, we have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,66],"tags":[743,791,768,523,529,765],"class_list":["post-2001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-president-obama","category-u-s-constitution","tag-aclj","tag-jay-sekulow","tag-president-obama","tag-recess-appointments","tag-senate-judiciary-committee","tag-u-s-constitution"],"yoast_head":"\nJay Sekulow: Opposition Growing to Obama's "Non-Recess" Appointments - Faith & Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/01\/jay-sekulow-opposition-growing-to-obamas-non-recess-appointments.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jay Sekulow: Opposition Growing to Obama's "Non-Recess" Appointments - Faith & Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s an issue that has struck a constitutional chord with the American people and a growing number of members of Congress. The issue: President Obama’s overreach last week in making appointments to federal agencies – appointments that bypassed the Senate – appointments that violated the separation of powers. In just a few days, we have…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/01\/jay-sekulow-opposition-growing-to-obamas-non-recess-appointments.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith & Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-01-10T17:26:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/files\/2011\/07\/shutterstock_78746251-300x199.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jay Sekulow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Jay Sekulow: Opposition Growing to Obama's \"Non-Recess\" Appointments - Faith & Justice","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/01\/jay-sekulow-opposition-growing-to-obamas-non-recess-appointments.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Jay Sekulow: Opposition Growing to Obama's \"Non-Recess\" Appointments - Faith & Justice","og_description":"It’s an issue that has struck a constitutional chord with the American people and a growing number of members of Congress. The issue: President Obama’s overreach last week in making appointments to federal agencies – appointments that bypassed the Senate – appointments that violated the separation of powers. In just a few days, we have…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/01\/jay-sekulow-opposition-growing-to-obamas-non-recess-appointments.html","og_site_name":"Faith & Justice","article_published_time":"2012-01-10T17:26:08+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/files\/2011\/07\/shutterstock_78746251-300x199.jpg"}],"author":"Jay Sekulow","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/01\/jay-sekulow-opposition-growing-to-obamas-non-recess-appointments.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/01\/jay-sekulow-opposition-growing-to-obamas-non-recess-appointments.html","name":"Jay Sekulow: Opposition Growing to Obama's \"Non-Recess\" Appointments - Faith & Justice","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/01\/jay-sekulow-opposition-growing-to-obamas-non-recess-appointments.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/01\/jay-sekulow-opposition-growing-to-obamas-non-recess-appointments.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/files\/2011\/07\/shutterstock_78746251-300x199.jpg","datePublished":"2012-01-10T17:26:08+00:00","dateModified":"2012-01-10T17:26:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/#\/schema\/person\/fd4c384af0620d4b82ae09cf1d77bdb4"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/01\/jay-sekulow-opposition-growing-to-obamas-non-recess-appointments.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/01\/jay-sekulow-opposition-growing-to-obamas-non-recess-appointments.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/01\/jay-sekulow-opposition-growing-to-obamas-non-recess-appointments.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/files\/2011\/07\/shutterstock_78746251-300x199.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/files\/2011\/07\/shutterstock_78746251-300x199.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/01\/jay-sekulow-opposition-growing-to-obamas-non-recess-appointments.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Jay Sekulow: Opposition Growing to Obama’s “Non-Recess” Appointments"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/","name":"Faith & Justice","description":"Jay Sekulow - ACLJ","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/#\/schema\/person\/fd4c384af0620d4b82ae09cf1d77bdb4","name":"Jay Sekulow","description":"Jay Sekulow is Chief Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), a law firm and educational organization that focuses on constitutional law. He is also Chief Counsel of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). Jay Sekulow is one of the leading defenders of constitutional rights and religious liberties in the United States. Over the past 25 years, Jay Sekulow has amassed an unparalleled record of accomplishment, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court on 12 occasions. His aggressive litigation strategy before the Supreme Court has led to many landmark First Amendment victories. In his first case before the Supreme Court, Jews for Jesus, Jay Sekulow secured the right of religious groups to pass out tracks in airports. In Mergens, Jay Sekulow successfully protected the right of students to form Bible clubs and prayer groups on public school campuses. In Lamb\u2019s Chapel, Jay Sekulow cleared the way for churches to have equal access to public facilities in the same way that other groups are permitted to utilize those facilities. In the Bray and Operation Rescue cases, Jay Sekulow protected the free speech rights of pro-life advocates to be free from criminal prosecution for conveying their pro-life message. In McConnell v. FEC, Jay Sekulow protected the right of young people to engage in the political process by donating to the campaign of their choice. In Pleasant Grove, Jay Sekulow paved the way for governments to be able to display Ten Commandments monuments, and other monuments of their choosing, in public parks. Through the ACLJ, Jay Sekulow engages the political, legal, and cultural battles facing America today. He routinely works with Members of Congress, advising them on proposed legislation and representing them in critical legal matters. Jay Sekulow has also testified before Congress on the constitutionality of proposed legislation. Also, in addition to being a successful Supreme Court advocate, Jay Sekulow is a highly respected broadcaster. Jay Sekulow is the host of Jay Sekulow Live! which airs each weekday on over 850 radio stations nationwide, in addition Sirius and XM satellite radio. He brings insight and education to listeners daily through this national call-in radio program. He is also the host of the ACLJ This Week, the ACLJ\u2019s weekly television program. Jay Sekulow regularly appears on major media outlets, including FOX News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC, where he is sought out for his vast experience in constitutional law and his unique insight into many of the pressing legal and political issues facing America today. He is frequently quoted in the nation's leading newspapers and often contributes opinion editorials to national publications. Jay Sekulow has also published numerous law review and other scholarly articles. Jay Sekulow has received numerous honors for his groundbreaking legal work in the area of free speech and religious liberties. The Legal Times has named Sekulow one of \u201cThe 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years\u201d and the National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \u201c100 Most Influential Lawyers\u201d in the United States. In addition, TIME Magazine listed Jay Sekulow as one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America. Jay Sekulow\u2019s legal work in defense of religious liberties and human rights extends beyond the United States, having founded the ECLJ in Strasbourg, France, which maintains consultative status with the United Nations. He has also opened offices in Pakistan, Africa, and Jerusalem, Israel. Jay Sekulow is a staunch defender of Israel, presenting arguments before the International Criminal Court at the Hague. His efforts in support of Israel\u2019s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks have been commended by Israeli government officials, one official stating, \"Jay was instrumentally-involved in projects that the President of Israel and the Prime Minister put on our national agenda.\" Jay Sekulow also has a passion for educating the next generation of religious liberty advocates. He is a member of the Regent University Law School Faculty as a Distinguished Professor of Law and routinely teaches courses on constitutional law and presents guest lectures. Jay Sekulow has also started educational programs in international human rights law in Strasbourg, France and at Handong University in South Korea. Jay Sekulow is a graduate of Mercer University, earning both a bachelor\u2019s degree and doctor of jurisprudence. Sekulow served on the editorial staff of the Mercer Law Review and graduated cum laude. He later earned a Ph.D. from Regent University, writing his dissertation on American Legal History. Jay Sekulow also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C. Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsels full biography and video. Jay Sekulow on Facebook. Jay Sekulow on Twitter. Jay Sekulow on YouTube.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/author\/jay_sekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2001"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2009,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2001\/revisions\/2009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}