The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Senate Republicans in their partisan battle with President Barack Obama, limiting the president's power to fill high-level vacancies with temporary appointments during Congressional recesses.
The court unanimously decided Obama's appointments to the National Labor Relations Board in 2012 without Senate confirmation were illegal.
The president had invoked the Constitution's provision that lets him make temporary appointments when the Senate is in recess. But the court ruled the Senate was not in a formal recess when Obama acted in 2012.
Justice Stephen Breyer said in his majority opinion that a congressional break less than 10 days is “presumptively too short” to permit a recess appointment.
The White House says it is "deeply disappointed" with the Supreme Court's decision.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court also struck down a Massachusetts law that created a 11-meter protest-free zone around abortion clinics that allows patients unimpeded access.
The justices' decision was unanimous. They said the law violates the freedom of speech rights of anti-abortion protesters guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Some information for this report comes from AP, AFP and Reuters.
