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| Republicans hint at legal action over Obama minimum wage hike plan | Republicans hint at legal action over Obama minimum wage hike plan |
| (7 months later) | |
| Republicans concede they cannot stop Barack Obama’s plan to increase the minimum wage for federal contract workers but have warned the president they would fight his attempts to circumvent Congress with further executive action in his state of the union speech. | Republicans concede they cannot stop Barack Obama’s plan to increase the minimum wage for federal contract workers but have warned the president they would fight his attempts to circumvent Congress with further executive action in his state of the union speech. |
| The president is due to announce an increase to $10.10 an hour for new contracts as an attempt to encourage other employers to follow suit, and the symbolic measure amounts to an acknowledgement by the White House that binding national legislation is highly unlikely to pass the GOP-dominated House of Representatives. | The president is due to announce an increase to $10.10 an hour for new contracts as an attempt to encourage other employers to follow suit, and the symbolic measure amounts to an acknowledgement by the White House that binding national legislation is highly unlikely to pass the GOP-dominated House of Representatives. |
| It is unclear whether more than a few hundred thousand federal contractors will eventually qualify for the new minimum wage, but poverty campaigners have been urging Obama to take the step under his executive powers as a way of lifting pay standards, particularly in areas with a high concentrations of federal workers such as Washington DC. | It is unclear whether more than a few hundred thousand federal contractors will eventually qualify for the new minimum wage, but poverty campaigners have been urging Obama to take the step under his executive powers as a way of lifting pay standards, particularly in areas with a high concentrations of federal workers such as Washington DC. |
| But in a taste of possible constitutional clashes to come after tonight's State of the Union address, House speaker John Boehner hinted on Tuesday at possible legal action if Obama's executive actions encroach any further on what Republicans perceive as legislative territory. | |
| “House Republicans will continue to look closely at whether the president is faithfully executing the laws as he took an oath to do,” he told reporters on Capitol Hill. | “House Republicans will continue to look closely at whether the president is faithfully executing the laws as he took an oath to do,” he told reporters on Capitol Hill. |
| “I think [in the case of] the federal contracts and the minimum wage he probably has the authority to do that, but we are going to watch very closely because there is a constitution that we all take an oath to, including him, and following that constitution is the basis of our republic.” | “I think [in the case of] the federal contracts and the minimum wage he probably has the authority to do that, but we are going to watch very closely because there is a constitution that we all take an oath to, including him, and following that constitution is the basis of our republic.” |
| Pushed on what steps he might take, Boehner would only add: “There are options available to us.” | Pushed on what steps he might take, Boehner would only add: “There are options available to us.” |
| The expected fight over relatively small reform steps permissible under executive action is widely seen as a sign of how expectations have fallen since the president's optimistic inauguration speech this time last year. | The expected fight over relatively small reform steps permissible under executive action is widely seen as a sign of how expectations have fallen since the president's optimistic inauguration speech this time last year. |
| Obama began 2013 with bold promises of action on gun control, immigration and climate change. However, in what turned out to be the least productive year in the history of Congress, he failed to deliver legislative progress on any of those issues. | Obama began 2013 with bold promises of action on gun control, immigration and climate change. However, in what turned out to be the least productive year in the history of Congress, he failed to deliver legislative progress on any of those issues. |
| Instead, Obama was forced on to the defensive by a number of controversies, not least the national security disclosures by whistleblower Edward Snowden, in a year that has been widely described as his worst since coming to office five years ago | Instead, Obama was forced on to the defensive by a number of controversies, not least the national security disclosures by whistleblower Edward Snowden, in a year that has been widely described as his worst since coming to office five years ago |
| Obama is suffering some of his lowest approval ratings since becoming president in 2008, and his unpopularity risks tarnishing Democrats running for office in November’s midterm elections. | Obama is suffering some of his lowest approval ratings since becoming president in 2008, and his unpopularity risks tarnishing Democrats running for office in November’s midterm elections. |
| The president’s bad year was capped by the flawed rollout of his signature healthcare reforms, commonly known as Obamacare, the highlighting of which Republicans have resolved to make a priority during their election campaigns. | The president’s bad year was capped by the flawed rollout of his signature healthcare reforms, commonly known as Obamacare, the highlighting of which Republicans have resolved to make a priority during their election campaigns. |
| Analysts predict Democrats have more to lose during the midterms than their counterparts. Republicans are expected to retain a comfortable lead in the House, even if they lose one or two seats. Democrats, in contrast, could see their majority in the Senate significantly narrowed. | Analysts predict Democrats have more to lose during the midterms than their counterparts. Republicans are expected to retain a comfortable lead in the House, even if they lose one or two seats. Democrats, in contrast, could see their majority in the Senate significantly narrowed. |
| Indeed, there are sufficient numbers of vulnerable Democratic senators to give Republicans a shot at securing control of the upper chamber, a scenario that would be disastrous for Obama, midway through his second term in office. | Indeed, there are sufficient numbers of vulnerable Democratic senators to give Republicans a shot at securing control of the upper chamber, a scenario that would be disastrous for Obama, midway through his second term in office. |
| White House aides have indicated the president will “bypass” Congress in the year ahead, showing a greater willingness to use the executive authorities invested in his office to bring about change. | White House aides have indicated the president will “bypass” Congress in the year ahead, showing a greater willingness to use the executive authorities invested in his office to bring about change. |