The House on Wednesday voted to strike back at the kind of abuses that occurred during the presidency of Barack Obama, approving a measure to restrict the president’s power to force the courts to overturn the results of elections.
The bill, titled the Presidential Inaugural Credential and Temporary Immunity Act, would prevent the president from getting a court order blocking the imposition of tariffs or any other regulation by the new Congress if it takes office after Jan. 20, 2017.
The legislation has generally been applauded by Republicans who were critical of then-President Obama’s use of those levers of power. Obama used the courts many times over his eight years, including in cases where the courts blocked the implementation of executive actions in his final year in office.
The House voted 256-167 on the legislation, with all of the Democrats voting against it and dozens of Republicans voting for it.
Obama has criticized the legislation as overbroad and in violation of presidential powers, noting that a president is not appointed president in the early days of a new Congress but only is installed upon election.