Sound The Trumpet : Rep. Boehner Accuses Obama of Subverting Constitution

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“Rep. Boehner Accuses Obama of Subverting Constitution”
by Newsmax.com - Jim Meyers and David A. Patten
October 3rd, 2009

House Minority Leader John Boehner is accusing President Obama of subverting and circumventing the Constitution by appointing so-called czars who are not subject to Senate confirmation or scrutiny.

In a wide-ranging interview with Newsmax.TV on Thursday, the Ohio Republican discussed issues ranging from healthcare reform to President Obama’s refusal to engage the GOP leadership in bipartisanship.

But Boehner’s most pointed comments came when Newsmax.TV's Ashley Martella asked whether he is concerned that Obama has appointed so many czars – special advisers or envoys who have relatively few restrictions on their authority or salary – most of whom do not have to win confirmation in the Senate, as Cabinet secretaries do.

"I think this whole issue has gotten way out of control in terms of the number of czars that he has and advisers around him," Boehner said.

While acknowledging that Obama has a right to domestic and international policy advisers, he contends that the president crossed the line with his czar appointments.

"He clearly is circumventing the Constitution, in my view, and I think the heat continues to build on the administration to deal with this," Boehner told Newsmax. "It's one thing to have domestic policy advisers or international policy advisers, but to have this many people at the White House who have really more control than the Cabinet secretaries, I think is a subversion of the Constitution."

Since taking office, the Obama administration has appointed about 33 of the so-called "czars," although the precise number depends on the definition used. Some czar positions, such as the cyber security czar, have been created but not filled.

Though past administrations have used czars — the most famous being the drug czar — Obama appears to have carved out much wider policy and executive roles for his appointees. So far only two of his czar appointments passed through the Senate's constitutional advice-and-consent confirmation procedure.

Obama’s czars are well compensated with six-figure salaries, and many of their budgets are buried within Cabinet or executive branch budgets. Of major concern to Congress are the unconfirmed czars who operate beyond Congressional oversight and appear to have authority beyond even that of some Cabinet secretaries, at least in their special fields of expertise. Health-reform czar Nancy-Ann DeParle and global-warming czar Carol Browner are two examples.

There is little doubt many of the czars wield enormous power. The czar appointments have raised eyebrows on Capitol Hill, including among some Democrats. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., wrote Obama a letter warning: “The rapid and easy accumulation of power by White House staff can threaten the constitutional system of checks and balances. At the worst, White House staff have taken direction and control of programmatic areas that are the statutory responsibility of Senate confirmed officials.”

Senate Democrats Dianne Feinstein of California and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin also have expressed misgivings.

Obama has appointed six special envoys who act as czars internationally. Obama's foreign-policy czars have not been confirmed by the Senate.

Afghanistan-Pakistan Czar Richard Holbrooke and Mideast Peace Czar George Mitchell both technically report to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to the State Department. But press reports suggest they can bypass her easily by communicating directly with the White House.

Some Republican members of Congress have gone so far as to suggest that the czars represent establishment of a "parallel government."

The use of such czars has come back to haunt Obama. His choice for the "green jobs" czar post, Van Jones, resigned after a spate of inflammatory remarks, as well as his participation in "9/11 truther" activities that seek to somehow blame former President George W. Bush for the 9/11 attacks. This drew criticism that some czars have not gone through the proper vetting that occurs during Senate confirmation.

Boehner has other major concerns that transcend the czars. The Ohio Republican also took aim at Democratic proposals for healthcare reform and said the United States needs to reform medical malpractice laws to deal with the "healthcare junksuit lottery" prevalent today. He wondered how Democrats could say "with a straight face" that they're protecting Medicare.

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