House Republicans Vote Along Party Lines To Sue Obama
Republicans of the House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to mount a lawsuit against President Obama. In a measure that operates independent of Senate approval, House Republicans are accusing Obama of exceeding his executive authority in his implementation of the Affordable Healthcare Act.
As reported by Reuters, House Republicans voted along party lines. The measure was passed in a 225-201 vote. While Republicans have made noise about other actions Obama has taken, the focus on the healthcare law is specific. Representative Pete Sessions of Texas said that "it is the option most likely to clear the legal hurdles necessary to succeed."
NBC says that house Democrats have referred to this bill as "a waste of taxpayer's time and money," with others speculating that this is the "first step towards the President's impeachment." The New York Times reports that Republicans invoked the Bible and lessons learned from the American Revolution in the hour-long debate that led to this bill's passing.
In a statement from House Leader John Boehner's press office, he defends the resolution, saying that "the current president believes he has the power to make his own laws—at times even boasting about it. He has said that if Congress won't make the laws he wants, he'll go ahead and make them himself, and in the case of the employer mandate in his health care law, that's exactly what he did."
House of Representative lawyers will draft papers over the five-week summer recess, which begins Friday.
[Image via AP]