WASHINGTON, DC – House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) released the following statement following the House passage of a bipartisan resolution condemning President Obama for the release of five Taliban terrorists without Congressional approval, which was in clear violation of the law.
“When President Obama transferred five high-risk terrorists from Guantanamo Bay without Congressional notification, he did so in clear violation of both the Antideficiency Act and the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act,” Scalise said. “The president’s desire to ignore and rewrite our nation’s laws threaten the delicate system of checks and balances that exists between the branches of our government and the separation of powers critical to the success of our great democracy. Worse than breaking the law, the reckless actions of the president opened the door for the released terrorists to return to the battlefield, putting the American people and our homeland directly at risk. I commend Congressman Scott Riggell and Chairman Buck McKeon for their leadership in holding President Obama and his lawlessness accountable to the American people we represent.”