Obama Uses Recess Appointments to Thwart GOP

Barack Obama is using the presidential prerogative of recess appointments for the first time to bypass a Republican logjam in the Senate. Obama made 15 such appointments today, complaining that GOP senators were blocking his nominees to score "political points." The picks include two nominees backed by unions to serve on the National Labor Relations Board, which Politico suggests is payback for union muscle on health care.

The selection of Craig Becker in particular for the NLRB is sure to anger Republicans, who blocked his appointment last month in a filibuster. Obama said that seating 15 of the 70-plus nominees still in limbo puts him in line with George W. Bush's use of the tactic. GOP Whip Jon Kyl threatened yesterday that Republicans "would make it very difficult to have bipartisan cooperation" if Obama bypassed the Senate.