Appointments Challenge Senate Role, Experts Say
Jonathan Wiseman, NYT
To many Republicans and some constitutional scholars, President Obama’s decision last week to ignore a sitting Senate and sidestep the confirmation process for several appointees risked nothing short of an end to the Senate’s role of providing advice and consent on presidential appointments.
Senate Republicans had been using procedural rules and filibusters to block or delay the confirmation of nearly 200 agency nominations, leaving vital positions vacant and neutralizing agencies they did not like. That compelled Mr. Obama to escalate matters further on Wednesday, making recess appointments even though the Senate was technically not in recess.
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, began using pro forma sessions, lasting just seconds, in late 2007 to keep the Senate nominally in session and prevent President George W. Bush from making recess appointments.
Republicans have responded with stalling tactics that have left 74 nominees pending consideration on the Senate floor and an additional 107 bottled up in committees, many of them for economic posts or to run initiatives that Republicans fiercely oppose.
full: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/us/politics/experts-say-obamas-recess-appointments-could-signify-end-to-a-senate-role.html?pagewanted=all