President Obama on Wednesday asked the Senate to confirm two members of the National Labor Relations Board whose recess appointments were ruled unconstitutional.

Obama sent the Senate a package of nominations that included NLRB Members Sharon Block and Richard Griffin, who were both installed at the agency in a show of power that was ruled invalid by a federal court.

The US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled last month that Block and Griffin's recess appointments to the NLRB were unconstitutional. Since then, Republicans have sought to challenge decisions made by the labor board during the tenures of Block and Griffin, which began in January 2012.

Forty GOP senators sent a letter Block and Griffin last month urging them to step down. Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), John Cornyn (R-TX) and Mike Johanns (R-NE) have also introduced legislation that would freeze work at the NLRB and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau due to the controversy over the recess appointments.

The White House said it disagrees with the court ruling. The administration is expected to appeal the decision.

At the time of the recess appointments, the Senate was holding pro forma sessions to prevent the president from acting. The Obama administration has argued the Senate was actually in recess at the time.

Republicans and business groups protested the move and fought back in court. The US Chamber of Commerce and the Coalition for a Democrat Workplace joined the case last year, arguing the recess appointments were not valid.

Included in the nominations sent to the Senate was Richard Cordray, the head of the CFPB. Cordray was recess appointed at the same time as Block and Griffin.

Critics of the consumer bureau argue the court ruling against the NLRB casts doubt on the legality of Cordray's position, which is being challenged in a separate lawsuit.

Obama had said last month that he planned to renominate Cordray to the post.

READ FULL SOURCE ARTICLE: 02/13/2013