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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate Floor applauding the Supreme Court decision regarding recess appointments:

“I welcome the Supreme Court’s decision in the Noel Canning case. It represents a clear rebuke to the President’s brazen power grab – a power grab I was proud to lead the effort against.

“Today’s decision was clear, and it was a unanimous rebuke of the President.

“Like my Republican colleagues and I have said all along, President Obama’s so-called ‘recess’ appointments to the NLRB in 2012 were a wholly unprecedented act of lawlessness.

“The President defied the Senate’s determination that it was meeting regularly, and the Supreme Court unanimously agreed with us.

“Today’s ruling is a victory for the Senate, for the American people, and for our Constitution.

“The Court reaffirmed the Senate’s clear constitutional authority to prescribe its own rules, including the right to determine for itself when it is in session. And the Supreme Court unanimously rejected the President’s completely unprecedented assertion of a unilateral appointment power—a power that the Framers deliberately withheld from his office.

“Our counsel, Miguel Estrada, did an outstanding job defending the Senate, and its uniquely important place in our Constitutional system. By contrast, our Democratic colleagues shirked their institutional duty to defend the Senate. They failed, yet again, to stand up to the President.

“Although they failed to defend the Senate when it mattered most, they, their successors, and their constituents will benefit from today’s ruling.

“The principle at stake in this case should extend well beyond narrow partisanship. It should be about more than just one President or one political party.

“In closing, the Administration’s tendency to abide only by the laws it likes represents a disturbing and dangerous threat to the rule of law. That’s true whether we’re talking about recess appointments or Obamacare.

“So I hope the Obama Administration will take away the appropriate lessons.

“Because the Court’s decision today is a clear rebuke of that behavior.”

Washington, D.C. – Leaders of the U.S. House and Senate held a ceremony honoring His Excellency Shimon Peres, President of Israel which took place in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda:

“For thousands of years, the Jewish people searched for a home.

“For almost 70 years, they’ve defended one.

“The world has marveled at the achievement of this once-nomadic people, subjected so often throughout their history to the worst of human nature, a people who raised a nation out of the sands with every odd stacked against them.

“It’s an incredible tale.

“And since the birth of modern Israel, one man has been there every step of the way, standing at the very center of this remarkable drama.

“Shimon Peres. President of Israel. The man we honor today.

“He was there in pre-war Europe. He was there during the migration to Israel. He was there for the War of Independence.

“He has held virtually every major government post over the span of his nearly 70-year long political career.

“He served under Ben-Gurion. He dined with De Gaulle. He sparred with Nasser.

“His tenure in the Knesset spans momentous events in Lebanon. And Camp David. And the Olympics in Munich.

“He has both seen, and stood at the center of, so much.

“From Israel’s earliest years as a dream in the desert, to its transformation to the modern, flourishing, diverse democracy of today, he’s been there, a figure of reconciliation and strength.

“With his Arab neighbors, he has sought peace – and made extraordinary, Nobel-winning efforts to advance it.

“His historic speech to the German people in 2010 moved and inspired many of us.

“And we know that President Peres put aside long-standing mistrust among domestic political adversaries in order to join hands with those interested in peace – the kind of peace that seemed impossible at the time, and that remains sadly elusive today.

“But he hasn’t given up.

“And that’s not surprising, given that this is a man who once said that, for him, ‘dreaming is simply being pragmatic.’ It’s this remarkable approach to his life and work that’s sustained Shimon Peres for decades in the political spotlight.

“In just a few weeks, President Peres will leave the presidency behind. He’ll close the book on one storied political career and hand the reins to his successor. But what a story it has been. What a story it is.

“So today, we honor Shimon Peres, President of the State of Israel, for his numerous contributions to public life. We thank him for being such a great friend of the United States over the years – for strengthening the unbreakable union between our two democracies.

“And we look forward to the next chapter in his extraordinary life. May it be as remarkable as those that preceded it.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell issued the following statement today after the Supreme Court overturned President Obama’s so-called “recess” appointments to the National Labor Relations Board in January 2012. McConnell and 44 of his Senate colleagues filed an amicus brief in the case and counsel for the Senators participated in oral argument before the Supreme Court.

“I welcome the Supreme Court’s important decision today that the President’s so-called “recess” appointments to the National Labor Relations Board two and one-half years ago were unconstitutional. This administration has a tendency to abide by laws that it likes and to disregard those it doesn’t. In this case, that disturbing and dangerous tendency extended to the Constitution itself. Whether it’s recess appointments or Obamacare, this troubling approach does serious damage to the rule of law, and the Court’s decision is a clear rebuke of the administration’s behavior. The President made an unprecedented power grab by placing political allies at a powerful federal agency while the Senate was meeting regularly and without even bothering to wait for its advice and consent. A unanimous Supreme Court has rejected this brazen power-grab. All Americans should be grateful for the Court’s rebuke of the administration—and the Democratic Majority in the Senate should be embarrassed by its failure, yet again, to stand up to the President and to defend the Senate’s uniquely important role under our Constitution. I was proud to lead the effort to defend the Senate against the President’s unprecedented power grab.”

Background: The challenge to the recess appointments was brought by Noel Canning, a local, family-owned business in Washington State that bottles and distributes soft drinks. The company challenged the NLRB’s determination that it must enter into a collective bargaining agreement with a labor union. Former Assistant to the Solicitor General Miguel Estrada was counsel for the Senators and argued on their behalf before the Supreme Court. A partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Mr. Estrada serves as Co-Chair of the firm's Appellate and Constitutional Law Practice Group. Mr. Estrada served as Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States from 1992 until 1997 and previously served as Assistant U.S. Attorney and Deputy Chief of the Appellate Section, U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York.

Read the amicus brief here.

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McConnell on the Supreme Court’s ‘Unanimous Rebuke of the President’

June 26, 2014

Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony Honoring His Excellency Shimon Peres

‘So today, we honor Shimon Peres, President of the State of Israel, for his numerous contributions to public life. We thank him for being such a great friend of the United States over the years – for strengthening the unbreakable union between our two democracies.’

June 26, 2014

McConnell on Supreme Court Ruling Overturning the President’s Unconstitutional “Recess” Appointments

June 26, 2014