GOP Tells Supreme Court: Obama Appointments 'Unconstitutional'

The entire Senate GOP conference is asking the Supreme Court to invalidate the president's January 2012 recess appointments, saying they represent an unconstitutional abuse of power.

All 45 Republican senators signed a brief Tuesday saying President Barack Obama exceeded his authority when he named members to the National Labor Relations Board while the Senate was technically in session, reports The Hill.

"The president's decision to circumvent the American people by installing his appointees at a powerful federal agency while the Senate was continuing to hold sessions, and without obtaining the advice and consent of the Senate, is an unprecedented power grab,” said Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell.

"We will demonstrate to the Court how the president's unconstitutional actions fundamentally endanger the Congress' role in providing a check on the excesses of the executive branch."

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington found in January that three of the appointments were unconstitutional, and the White House asked the Supreme Court to review the case.

The five-member board currently has two vacancies. Without the members named in 2012, the board would not have been able to form a quorum, and the appeals court's ruling casts doubt on the legality of the appointed officials' votes.

The GOP complaint also raises concerns about Richard Cordray, who Obama named as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at the same he announced the NLRB members.

Meanwhile, the president has renominated NLRB board members Sharon Block and Richard Griffin, along with nominations for Chairman Mark Pearce and two new nominees.