Republicans brought their lawyers to give their opinion on Boehner’s lawsuit against President Obama. And naturally, their lawyers agreed that the president has overreached his boundaries when he slowed down the implementation of the employer mandate in The Affordable Care Act.
But the Democrats have lawyers too, and they were invited to give their opinion on the lawsuit.
At Wednesday’s hearing, a pair of lawyers invited by Democrats said the Republicans’ expected lawsuit was itself an overreach and an attempt, they said, to stop the White House from making reasonable adjustments to the law.
The GOP’s frustration with Obama extends far beyond his handling of the healthcare law, stretching into his actions on immigration, environmental regulations and a host of other areas.
Simon Lazarus, a former adviser to President Carter, said that the House should respond to those actions by passing laws, not taking the president to court. His statements illustrated the skepticism that many lawyers have about the lawsuit, and whether the GOP can prove the president’s actions have harmed them.
“The president has authorized a minor, temporary course correction,” Lazarus said about the delay of the employer mandate. “As a legal and practical matter, that’s well within his judgment.”
Walter Dellinger, an acting solicitor general under President Clinton, added that the House’s proposed action would give too much power to the courts, by allowing the judiciary to weigh in on disputes between the executive and legislative branches.
Allowing the House to sue Obama or the president to sue Congress, Dellinger said, “would entrust with the unelected judges the power they should not have in the American system.”
