{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://brooks.house.gov/media-center/news-releases/brooks-president-violates-constitutions-separation-powers-clause", "Brooks: President Violates Constitution's Separation of Powers Clause", "2013-11-22", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "AL", "Mo Brooks", "B001274", "brooks.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - President Obama has repeatedly rewritten the Affordable Care Act by \"executive decree\" without constitutional authority to do so. In response, CongressmanMo Brooks (AL-05) has co-signed House Resolution 425 expressing congressional disapproval of President Obama's violation of Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution to take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed (the \"Take Care Clause\"). Brooks stated, \"The notion that a president can unilaterally alter duly-enacted legislation by executive fiat is unconscionable and violates more than two centuries of established constitutional law. America's Founding Fathers established a system of separation of powers and checks and balances because they feared dictatorial power resting in the hands of one or few persons. History has proven those fears justified, as time after time around the world, power resting in the hands of one or few has been abused, thus causing loss of civil liberties among the general populace, civil strife,and war.\" Brooks continued, \"President Obama's amending federal statutes by executive fiat is a direct attack on the rule of law and a Constitution that has served America so well for so long. In short, President Obama's executive power overreach is unparalleled in American history and shows a blatant disregard for basic constitutional principles.\" Brooks added, \"The Constitution empowersCongress, the American people's most direct representatives, to enact laws (subject to presidential signature or veto). The President has a dutyunder the Constitution's \"Take Care Clause\" to obey and enforce laws properly enacted. Given President Obama's power overreach, it is Congress's duty to defend the Constitution.\" Brooks concluded, \"For more than two centuries, Senate filibuster powers forced presidents to nominate centrist, unbiased judges to interpret laws and the Constitution. Yesterday, Senator Harry Reid and the Democrat majority destroyed minority rights, thus empowering presidents to nominate extremist judges who can, because of partisanship, preconceived bias,or other extremist views, disregard the Constitution and established law. The net result: there is now nothing any Senate minority can do to stop President Obama from nominating federal judges whose sole function is to undermine theConstitutionand ratify presidential powers unrivaled in American history. Yesterday the Senate stripped Lady Justice of her blindfold and dangerously tipped the scales of justice out of balance.\"  This resolution: Disapproves of the President's failure to take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed as required by the Constitution;Disapproves of the President's usurpation of the legislative power of Congress through the rewriting of key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; andReaffirms that the preservation of the Constitution's separation of powers is essential for the protection of individual liberty and the maintenance of the rule of law. *Click here to read H.Res. 425. ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://brooks.house.gov/media-center/news-releases/brooks-president-violates-constitutions-separation-powers-clause"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5472588129341602, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}