On Jan. 4, 2012, President Barack Obama brazenly ignored constitutionally established separation of powers, as well as the rules of the U.S. Senate, by appointing three new members to the NLRB. The appointments are evidence the Board will continue to operate uninterrupted in its pursuit of silencing the voices of employers in the workplace.

ABC condemned the president’s decision to appoint Sharon Block (D), Richard Griffin (D) and Terry Flynn (R) to vacant seats on the Board, stating the agency “has been transformed from a neutral arbiter of labor law disputes into an activist organization that promotes the special interests of politically powerful unions.” Beyond concerns about the NLRB, the president’s actions show a blatant disregard for the Constitution and decades of legal opinion. In addition to ABC, several elected officials, experienced legal experts, media outlets and other organizations have criticized the president’s actions.

If left unchallenged, the appointments set a chilling precedent for presidential power that vastly exceeds what our nation’s founders envisioned by essentially giving the White House unlimited ability to appoint any person to any federal post without any meaningful review by the publicly elected officials in the Senate. In practical terms, this means no congressional checks on appointments of controversial individuals to key posts; diminished public accountability for unelected bureaucracies; and more job-killing, anti-business policies and regulations to contend with.

On Jan. 13, 2012, the ABC-led CDW filed a legal challenge against the president’s actions aimed at restoring the system of checks and balances prescribed in the Constitution. In addition, efforts are underway in Congress to investigate the White House’s actions leading up to these appointments and to limit the president’s ability to issue recess appointments in the future.

For more on the president’s “recess” appointments, visit ABC’s Newsline.