{"id":1910310,"date":"2023-04-05T19:42:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-05T23:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-ag-just-threw-a-glorious-legal-wrench-in-bidens-unconstitutional-1-7-trillion-spending-spree\/"},"modified":"2023-04-05T19:49:09","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T23:49:09","slug":"texas-ag-just-threw-a-glorious-legal-wrench-in-bidens-unconstitutional-1-7-trillion-spending-spree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-ag-just-threw-a-glorious-legal-wrench-in-bidens-unconstitutional-1-7-trillion-spending-spree\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas AG Just Threw A Glorious Legal Wrench In Biden\u2019s Unconstitutional $1.7 Trillion Spending Spree"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftexas-ag-just-threw-a-glorious-legal-wrench-in-bidens-unconstitutional-1-7-trillion-spending-spree%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1910310&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47-->\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked a federal court to stop the Biden administration from enforcing the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, claiming that the Congress did not pass the massive spending bill constitutionally. While it is unlikely that the entire $1.7 trillion appropriation will be frozen, Texas makes a strong case for stopping two aspects of the bill.<\/p>\n<p>In February, the Texas attorney general sued the Biden administration, arguing that the House of Representatives did not have the constitutionally mandated quorum to pass the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. Paxton is now seeking a preliminary injunction against enforcing the law.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1162455377\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5d58469e14d792d77b2a2d1b907cec05 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5d58469e14d792d77b2a2d1b907cec05\"><\/div>\n<p>Paxton claims that when the House passed the $1.7 trillion spending bill on December 23, 2022, it lacked a quorum because only 201 representatives were present. However, the House proceeded with the vote, counting votes of both the 201 present lawmakers and adding to the tally an extra 226 votes those lawmakers cast on behalf of absent members who had appointed them as \u201cproxies.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The House clerk recorded the bill passed, and it was signed into law by the Biden administration just a few days later. Paxton argues that the House Proxy Rule violates the quorum clause of the Constitution and thus the Consolidated Appropriations Act never became law.<\/p>\n<p>Paxton\u2019s quorum clause argument is a winner from a constitutional perspective. The quorum clause of the Constitution expressly requires a \u201cmajority\u201d of members to constitute a \u201cquorum\u201d to do business. <\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f212ec79c456768954888366b3ab5c96 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f212ec79c456768954888366b3ab5c96\"><\/div>\n<p>The Biden administration&#8217;s best option would be to grant Texas\u2019 motion, but enter a preliminary injunction limited to the two specific aspects of the Consolidated Appropriations Act challenged by Texas. Specifically, Texas objects to the DHS&#8217; Alternatives to Detention Program and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023\u2019s purported expansion of the definition of pregnancy discrimination. Freezing those two aspects of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 while Texas\u2019 lawsuit proceeds will maintain the status quo until the courts resolve the important constitutional questions presented in Paxton v. DOJ.<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-442b85f7c5abf1d3bd663329f810776a fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-442b85f7c5abf1d3bd663329f810776a\"><\/div>\n<p>Courts have relied on the so-called Enrollment Bill Rule to hold that once a bill is \u201cenrolled\u201d in the official journal of the House (or Senate), challenges to the passage of the bill are precluded. According to Paxton, however, the Enrollment Bill Rule only precludes judicial review of \u201cfactual\u201d questions, not \u201clegal\u201d questions. Because Texas\u2019 constitutional challenge presents only a legal question for the court, Paxton argues the Enrollment Bill Rule does not apply. Whether the Enrollment Bill Rule prevents judicial review of a quorum clause challenge is an issue of first impression for the court. <\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-62262b8068ad7439bf4be84573e87611 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-62262b8068ad7439bf4be84573e87611\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">   Margot Cleveland is The Federalist&#8217;s senior legal correspondent. <\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/congress\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Congress<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/constitution\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Constitution<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/federal-spending\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Federal Spending<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/house-of-representatives\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">House of Representatives<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Joe Biden<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ken-paxton\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Ken Paxton<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/politics\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/quorum\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Quorum<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/spending-bill\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Spending Bill<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/texas\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Texas<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/texas- \n<br \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked a federal court on Tuesday to bar the Biden administration from enforcing the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, claiming Congress failed to constitutionally pass the massive spending bill. While the court is unlikely to freeze the entire $1.7 trillion appropriation, Texas presents a strong case for halting two aspects<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":499,"featured_media":1910312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[10109,3706,8072,4431,3834,10782,3694,8397,5803,23622],"class_list":["post-1910310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-1-7","tag-bidens","tag-glorious","tag-legal","tag-spending","tag-spree","tag-texas","tag-threw","tag-unconstitutional","tag-wrench"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1910310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/499"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1910310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1910310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1910312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1910310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1910310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1910310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}