U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) introduced The White House Accountability Act of 2015 on Tuesday, legislation that aims to hold President Barack Obama accountable for his actions and reiterate the limits of his power under the Constitution.
“Today’s legislation arises after witnessing President Obama’s persistence in circumventing Congress to unilaterally legislate on immigration in a top-down manner,” Ellmers said. “As the House of Representatives holds the power of the purse strings, it’s time we hold the president accountable for his blatant disregard of the Constitution as it applies to immigration and other areas of his presidency.”
The introduction of the bill comes in the wake of numerous actions by the president that Ellmers said overstep his authority under the U.S. Constitution, especially regarding his efforts to provide amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants under an executive order.
In February, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen agreed that the president violated the Constitution and ordered an injunction to stop the immigration order.
“The [Department of Homeland Security (DHS)] was not given any ‘discretion by law’ to give 4.3 million removable aliens what the DHS itself labels as ‘legal presence,’” Hanen wrote in his order. “In fact, the law mandates that these illegally present individuals be removed. The DHS has adopted a new rule that substantially changes both the status and employability of millions. These changes go beyond mere enforcement or even non-enforcement of this nation’s immigration scheme.’”