Landry in middle of recess appointment fight

It was widely anticipated earlier this month that President Barack Obama would use a recess appointment to name Elizabeth Warren the head of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. By doing so, Obama could have skipped the Senate confirmation process. The bureau now has the authority to regulate the consumer practices of banks—and Republicans have targeted that regulatory authority. That’s why U.S. Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia, was selected to oversee a pro forma session at the outset of the Fourth of July weekend. Pro forma sessions are commonly held during recesses to handle housekeeping matters, and the speaker typically calls upon a lawmaker whose district is located near Washington, D.C. This time, House Speaker John Boehner tapped Landry, who led a coalition of 77 congressional freshmen calling for the pro form session. The goal was to prevent Congress from going into a recess and thus blocking Obama from issuing recess appointments. Another 89 lawmakers are urging Obama to move ahead with Warren’s appointment. National Democrats argue that the strategy being put into play by Landry and other House Republicans may continue as the GOP plans on further blocking Obama from filling other vacancies in coming weeks to the National Labor Relations Board. Democratic appointments outnumber Republicans on that particular board. —Jeremy Alford