President Obama announced he will use recess appointments for his three picks for the National Labor Relations Board, avoiding Republican blocks to his nominations. The news comes after he announced earlier Wednesday that he would appoint Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The appointees-to-be, Sharon Block, Terence Flynn, and Richard Grifin will join the board where they will work with unions and oversee their activities. Republicans had already criticized the president for using the recess appointment this morning. "This is an extraordinary and entirely unprecedented power grab by President Obama that defies centuries of practice and the legal advice of his own Justice Department," John Boehner said. And that was before the three new appointments!

Update 4:39 p.m.: Dutifully, Mitt Romney's campaign has issued a statement in which he declares, "This action represents Chicago-style politics at its worst," which, yes that's the sound you hear of Democrats filing that statement away should President Romney ever use a recess appointment.

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