Congress Will Pick Up Defense of DOMA

Last month the justice department announced that it would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court, under orders from the president.  Congressional Republicans have been exploring alternate methods of ensuring the law is adequately defended in court and today the House Bipartisan Leadership Advisory Group ordered Kerry Kircher, the general counsel for the House, to defend DOMA in two upcoming cases.

Speaker of the House John Boehner announced the move earlier today saying that it “will ensure that this law’s constitutionality is decided by the courts, rather than by the President unilaterally.”  Boehner is one of three Republicans on the five man advisory group.  The top Democrat on the group, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, opposed the move saying that defending the law, which she believes is discriminatory, would “sap hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars, if not more, during a time of limited fiscal resources.”