Upset with what they see as “executive overreach” from the Obama administration, Republicans are forming a task force to challenge the president’s power.
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday approved the task force, which will be chaired by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa). The top Democrat on the task force will be Rep. Steve Cohen (Tenn.).
{mosads}The task force will probe some of President Obama’s most controversial executive orders and regulations as it looks for ways to reassert GOP power in Washington.
“The Constitution is clear: It is the role of Congress to make all laws, the judiciary to interpret the laws, and the president to enforce the laws,” House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) said in a statement.
The task force accuses “presidents of both parties” of “legislating from the Oval Office,” but the focus will be on the Obama administration.
Republicans are upset with President Obama’s use of executive action, particularly his recent moves to enact gun control and prevent millions of illegal immigrants from being deported.
The task force will “study the impact the increase in presidential and executive branch power has had on the ability of Congress” and look for legislative approaches to “restore the proper balance of powers.”
But Democrats expressed concerns that the task force could turn into a “partisan political witch hunt.”
“These efforts seem to many to be nothing more than political fishing expeditions designed not to get to the truth, but to energize the Republican party’s base voters in preparation for this year’s elections,” Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) said in a statement.