Courts to hear challenges to Obama appointments

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a test of presidential power, federal appeals courts are starting to hear legal challenges to President Barack Obama’s decision to bypass the Senate in appointing three members to the National Labor Relations Board.

The challenges in more than two dozen labor cases around the country have been winding their way through the legal system since Jan. 4, when Obama made the recess appointments.

Business groups and Republican leaders claim the move was unconstitutional. They say the Senate was technically in session when the president acted. Administration officials say the Senate was in a 20-day recess during which no real business was conducted.

A federal appeals court in Chicago will hear arguments on the issue Friday, while an appeals court in Washington will take up the issue next week.