Republican-Led House Votes to Sue Obama
Resolution passed Wednesday targets portion of Affordable Care Act
The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday evening to move forward with a lawsuit against President Barack Obama charging him of abusing his executive authority.
The resolution passed in a 225-201 vote with no Democratic support.
As Democracy Now! reported, "the lawsuit itself focuses solely on the delayed implementation of a portion of the Affordable Care Act -- a law Republicans opposed and then tried to repeal."
Speaking on the floor ahead of the vote, House Speaker John Boehner said, "No member of this body needs to be reminded of what the Constitution states about the president's obligation to faithfully execute the laws of our nation. No member needs to be reminded of the bonds of trust that have been frayed, of the damage that's already been done to our economy and to our people. Are you willing to let any president choose what laws to execute and what laws to change? Are you willing to let anyone tear apart what our Founders have built?"
At a press conference following the Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that "the question comes up that the Republicans are using the taxpayers' time and money to sue the President. We don't have money to have early childhood education for our children - they have rejected the President's universal pre-k - but we do have money to sue the President. We don't have money to lower the cost of student loans, but we do have money to sue the President. How much money is that? Nobody knows," she said.
Pelosi also charged that the Republicans "had no standing" to make their case and said that the suit is really "about the road to impeachment. And if it is not, the Speaker can say one simple sentence: Impeachment is off the table."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday evening to move forward with a lawsuit against President Barack Obama charging him of abusing his executive authority.
The resolution passed in a 225-201 vote with no Democratic support.
As Democracy Now! reported, "the lawsuit itself focuses solely on the delayed implementation of a portion of the Affordable Care Act -- a law Republicans opposed and then tried to repeal."
Speaking on the floor ahead of the vote, House Speaker John Boehner said, "No member of this body needs to be reminded of what the Constitution states about the president's obligation to faithfully execute the laws of our nation. No member needs to be reminded of the bonds of trust that have been frayed, of the damage that's already been done to our economy and to our people. Are you willing to let any president choose what laws to execute and what laws to change? Are you willing to let anyone tear apart what our Founders have built?"
At a press conference following the Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that "the question comes up that the Republicans are using the taxpayers' time and money to sue the President. We don't have money to have early childhood education for our children - they have rejected the President's universal pre-k - but we do have money to sue the President. We don't have money to lower the cost of student loans, but we do have money to sue the President. How much money is that? Nobody knows," she said.
Pelosi also charged that the Republicans "had no standing" to make their case and said that the suit is really "about the road to impeachment. And if it is not, the Speaker can say one simple sentence: Impeachment is off the table."
The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday evening to move forward with a lawsuit against President Barack Obama charging him of abusing his executive authority.
The resolution passed in a 225-201 vote with no Democratic support.
As Democracy Now! reported, "the lawsuit itself focuses solely on the delayed implementation of a portion of the Affordable Care Act -- a law Republicans opposed and then tried to repeal."
Speaking on the floor ahead of the vote, House Speaker John Boehner said, "No member of this body needs to be reminded of what the Constitution states about the president's obligation to faithfully execute the laws of our nation. No member needs to be reminded of the bonds of trust that have been frayed, of the damage that's already been done to our economy and to our people. Are you willing to let any president choose what laws to execute and what laws to change? Are you willing to let anyone tear apart what our Founders have built?"
At a press conference following the Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that "the question comes up that the Republicans are using the taxpayers' time and money to sue the President. We don't have money to have early childhood education for our children - they have rejected the President's universal pre-k - but we do have money to sue the President. We don't have money to lower the cost of student loans, but we do have money to sue the President. How much money is that? Nobody knows," she said.
Pelosi also charged that the Republicans "had no standing" to make their case and said that the suit is really "about the road to impeachment. And if it is not, the Speaker can say one simple sentence: Impeachment is off the table."

