The Supreme Court will take up the question of whether President Obama's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board were constitutional in a case that has the potential to reshape how recess appointments are done more broadly. The DC Circuit court overturned Obama's recess appointments in a sweeping decision saying the president can only make recess appointments between sessions of the Senate and when the vacancy occurred during the recess; other federal appeals courts, though, have defined the recess appointment power more broadly in past decisions. Which is, of course, a good set-up for the Supreme Court to hear a case.

Since the NLRB requires a three-member quorum to function, everything the labor board has done since the recess appointments were made a year and a half ago could be invalidated by this case. The delays that were already common for workers with cases before the NLRB, compounded by further delays from the constant lawsuits and uncertainty, are devastating to workers' lives. Now, the question is essentially this: Can the Republican filibuster entirely shut down a federal agency? Obama has nominated people to the board, including renominating the recess-appointed members, but why would Republicans confirm people to enforce labor law under a Democratic administration? Today's Republicans emphatically wouldn't.

The immediate problem of NLRB nominations could be solved by Senate rules reform. But the broader question of under what circumstances the president can make recess appointments will be decided by the Supremes. I guess their decision will give us a sense of when they think the next Republican president will be elected ...

Tell Harry Reid to reopen filibuster reform in light of continued Republican obstructionism.