President Obama is already facing a potential challenge to his executive action on gun control from the legislative branch. Chairman of the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Subcommittee U.S. Sen. Richard C. Shelby, R-Ala., asked Attorney General Loretta Lynch to testify at a hearing scheduled for January 28. Since Shelby’s subcommittee is responsible for allocating funds for the Department of Justice, its opposition could make it difficult for the president to accomplish his goals.
“Let me be clear: I will not sit idly by and allow the Department to implement unlawful, unconstitutional actions,” Shelby wrote to Lynch. He further noted that his subcommittee had already allocated extra funding to the Department of Justice. “While I expect to review the Department’s request for future programs and funding, I also expect that your plan to execute the funding Congress provided for FY 2016 will be consistent with the enacted law—not the whims of the president or his administration.”
