Last Thursday evening, word spread on Capitol Hill that House Speaker John Boehner was considering suing President Barack Obama over his impending executive action to grant deportation relief for millions of undocumented immigrants. Hours later, conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer appeared on Fox News and floated the idea that an executive action would be “an impeachable offense.” Across town, however, a far different type of conversation was taking place among an equally robust part of the conservative movement. At the Mayflower Hotel, lawyers gathered for the annual Federalist Society national convention -- one of the highest-profile conservative legal events of the year. The day’s big draws were the opening speech by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and an evening event featuring Justice Samuel Alito. Before the crowd changed into black tie attire for Alitos appearance a smaller panel convened under the title, “Federalism: The President’s Duty to Take Care That the Law be Faithfully Executed.” Panelists discussed major confrontations between the branches of government, from enforcement of marijuana law and the implementation of health care to Obamas impending executive order on immigration. By and large, the panelists agreed the president has wide legal latitude to prioritize and shape deportation laws, as regrettable for Republicans or the long-term balance of powers that may be.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 02:20:30 +0000