President Obama has made clear that he would sign into law the so-called “D.C. Voting Rights Act”, which would purport to give the District of Columbia representation in the House of Representatives. Matt Franck has comprehensively presented the compelling case against the bill’s constitutionality (see this post of his for a summary and links to much more). Not having followed the matter closely, I hadn’t realized that the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department has publicly and forcefully stated its conclusion that the bill is unconstitutional (in 2007 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee).
If the bill were to pass both houses of Congress now, would Obama sign it without first having his OLC carefully consider whether to revise the office’s position? And will Dawn Johnsen, if confirmed as Obama’s nominee to head OLC, meekly deliver the conclusion that Obama wants?