How Congress Can Defend DOMA

Hans von Spakovsky / March 01, 2011

On February 23, Attorney General Eric Holder announced in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner that President Obama had instructed him to no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), but that he would notify the courts of DOJ’s “interest in providing Congress a full and fair opportunity to participate in the litigation,” i.e., to defend DOMA. The president’s decision seems driven by politics and violates his law enforcement duty, calling into question the integrity of our justice system. It contravenes long-standing Justice Department policy to defend Acts of Congress unless no reasonable argument can be made in their defense or they infringe on core presidential constitutional authority, neither of which is the case with DOMA. Congress must now make sure that DOMA is adequately defended in court. (more…)