President Barack Obama is dismissing a lawsuit threatened by House Speaker John Boehner as a "stunt." Boehner earlier this week said he plans to sue Obama for what he contends is an overreach of presidential executive authority.
But Obama, in an interview on Good Morning America, said Boehner didn't say which of Obama's executive actions had crossed the line.
And Obama said he has no plans to scale back: "I'm not going to apologize for trying to do something while they're doing nothing," he said of congressional Republicans.
"What I've told Speaker Boehner directly is, 'If you're really concerned about me taking too many executive actions, why don't you try getting something done through Congress?' " Obama said. " 'The majority of American people want to see immigration reform done. We had a bipartisan bill through the Senate, and you're going to squawk if I try to fix some parts of it administratively that are within my authority while you are not doing anything?' "
The Supreme Court on Thursday modestly curtailed a president's power to unilaterally appoint officials during a Senate recess and a spokesman for Boehner noted the ruling, saying "The American people, their elected representatives, and the Supreme Court have all expressed serious concerns about the President's failure to follow the Constitution.
"Dismissing them with words like, 'smidgen' or 'stunt' only reinforces their frustration," spokesman Michael Steel said.
By Lesley Clark
McClatchy Washington Bureau