Check out this fascinating exchange between Attorney General Eric Holder and Sen. Mike Lee of Utah about the power — or lack thereof — of the president to act unilaterally.
When Holder suggested that Obama had made less use of unilateral executive authority than past presidents, Lee disagreed.
“When you look at the quality, not just the quantity but the quality, the nature of the executive orders that he has issued, he has usurped an extraordinary amount of authority within the executive branch,” Lee countered. “This is not precedented, and I point to the delay — the unilateral delay, lawless delay, in my opinion — of the employer mandate as an example of this. And so, at a minimum, I think he owes us an explanation as to what his legal analysis was.”
A little while before Lee questioned Holder, Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., introduced a bill that would require the executive branch to explain to Congress the reasoning behind every decision not to enforce a law.
