Sen. Mike Lee says Congress should stand up to the Obama administration’s bullying and assert its constitutional status as a co-equal branch of government.
Reports The Blaze:
As many conservatives stew over the Obama administration’s executive overreach, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said Congress shares some of the blame for failing to assert itself as a co-equal branch.
“Within the federal government, Congress needs to put on its big-boy pants and do Congress’s big-boy jobs,” Lee said Thursday at the Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention in Washington.
He said that reforming Congress requires standing up as an institution but also standing up to entrenched leaders.
“Within Congress, the power of each individual member needs to be emphasized so that the power isn’t just exercised by a few people who rise to the top ranks of power within the House and within the Senate,” Lee said.
That assertiveness should preferably come through constitutional and political powers, he said, when asked about the House lawsuit against the Obama administration executive actions over implementing the law.
“I think Congress should have institutional standing in cases like that,” he said. “My feelings on the matter can be described as slightly mixed however, not because I don’t think Congress should have such standing, but simply because I worry a little bit about Congress using the ability to challenge the executive branch in court as a crutch. I don’t want Congress to ever get to the point that it views that as a one-size-fits-all response to an overreaching executive.”
“I think we have to get more aggressive about how we are using the power of the purse and withhold funds,” Lee continued. “There is something slightly unseemly about a co-equal branch saying to the executive, hey, ‘We’re really mad. You just abused your power and took away ours. You know what we are going to do? We’re going to sue you and got to another branch of government and make them work it out.’ Sometimes that’s the only option but I don’t ever want Congress to view that as the only option.”
