WASHINGTON — Republican senators are moving to target the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as well as the National Labor Relations Board in the wake of a court ruling that found President Barack Obama’s appointments to the NLRB were unconstitutional.<\/p>\n
A bill offered Thursday by Sens. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) would withhold any funding for actions taken by the leaders whom Obama named to their posts more than a year ago.<\/p>\n
The move comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit declared unconstitutional the president’s recess appointments of three NLRB members. The case did not focus on CFPB director Richard Cordray, who was appointed on the same day, Jan. 4, 2012, under the same circumstances.<\/p>\n
The senators argue that since the appointments were ruled unconstitutional — and that logically Cordray’s must be as well — none of the actions that the agencies have taken that are contingent upon those appointees should be funded. <\/p>\n