“For the second time, my attempt to restore the constitutional balance between the executive and legislative co-equal branches of government has been stymied by the courts.”

WASHINGTON — The  U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a decision Tuesday denying Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) legal standing before the court.  This means that Senator Johnson will not be allowed to argue the merits of his case against the Obama administration’s actions that provided special treatment under Obamacare to members of Congress and their staffs, unless the decision is overturned on appeal.  Senator Johnson made these remarks:

“For the second time, my attempt to restore the constitutional balance between the executive and legislative co-equal branches of government has been stymied by the courts.  With this decision today, another executive action by the administration will go unchallenged, all based on the legal technicality of standing.   

“This is unfortunate for America because it means the important issue this case presents will not get its day in court. George Washington University Law School Professor Jonathan Turley put it best when he testified before Congress, ‘The circumvention of the legislative process not only undermines the authority of this branch but destabilizes the tripartite system as a whole. If President Obama can achieve the same result of legislation by executive fiat, future presidents could do the same in negating environmental or discrimination or consumer protection laws. Such practices further invest the Administrative State with a degree of insularity and independence that poses an obvious danger to liberty interests protected by divided government. This danger is made all the more menacing by the clear assumption by the Executive Branch that artificially narrow standing rules will insulate the orders from judicial scrutiny and relief.’

“My legal team and I will carefully review the decision before determining our next step in this important constitutional dispute.  I want to personally thank the tens of thousands of great Americans who have supported this effort.  We’ve lost a battle in court, but we will continue to move forward in our effort to return sanity, fairness and balance to government on behalf of the American people.”

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