DID OBAMA FINALLY DO SOMETHING RIGHT?

President Obama has also made recess appointments to fill three vacant positions on the National Labor Relations Board, avoiding a suspension of the board’s operations. The NLRB had faced the prospect of shutting down this month with one board member’s term expiring and Republicans refusing to confirm two Obama nominees, thereby leaving the board without quorum. But on Tuesday, Obama tapped Democrats Sharon Block and Richard Griffin and Republican Terence Flynn to fill the vacant seats. In a statement, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce denounced the move, saying it will "further poison the well with regard to labor-management issues pending in front of the board and on Capitol Hill." Labor leaders meanwhile have praised the recess appointments. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said, "We commend the President for exercising his constitutional authority to ensure that crucially important agencies protecting workers and consumers are not shut down by Republican obstructionism."