House Approves Lawsuit Against Obama over Alleged Abuse of Power

By Sarah Price - 31 Jul '14 05:21AM

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a resolution put forth by the Republicans to sue President Barack Obama for his alleged abuse of constitutional authority.

Even though the House was sharply divided over the plan, it launched a campaign-season lawsuit against the President. The lawsuit resolution was backed on a vote of 225-201 (considering all Democrats were opposed to it), Fox News reports.

Ridiculing the move, Obama and other Democrats said that it was a stunt aimed at tossing political red meat to conservative voters, Associated Press reports.

On the other hand, the Republicans believe that the lawsuit was necessary so that Obama does not exceed his constitutional powers as he allegedly did with unilateral changes to the Affordable Care Act. According to BBC, he exceeded his powers when he delayed an insurance deadline in his healthcare law.

Dismissing it as a waste of time, Obama said, "Everyone sees this as a political stunt. If they're not going to do anything, we'll do what we can on our own. And we've taken more than 40 actions aimed at helping hardworking families like yours. That's when we act - when your Congress won't."

Although members of the Congress have sued the President before, it is the first time either the House or the Senate has brought legal action against a President over the validity of his powers.

Republicans in Congress accuse Obama of having exceeded his constitutional authority on a number of occasions so as to bypass Congress by issuing executive orders.

"We have no plans to impeach the President. We have no future plans. Listen, it's all a scam, started by Democrats at the White House," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said.