Tensions Flare After Recess Maneuver: Obama Bypasses Senate on 15 Stalled Appointments

MARCH 29, 2010
BY MELANIE TROTTMAN AND BRODY MULLINS

President Barack Obama's decision to circumvent the Senate in filling 15 administration posts marked another step in the administration's turn toward a more-combative approach toward congressional Republicans, provoking a volley of protests from GOP lawmakers.

Citing months of "Republican obstruction,'' Mr. Obama on Saturday said he would use recess appointments to put union lawyer Craig Becker on the National Labor Relations Board and fill 14 other administration posts that were vacant because of stalled Senate confirmations. the rest