Washington ( CNN ) -- A Republican-led effort to block President Obama 's nominations for top federal jobs led to the 15 recess appointments announced by the White House , Obama 's senior adviser said in an interview broadcast Sunday . `` The Republican Party has taken a position where they 're going to try and slow and block progress on all fronts , whether it 's legislation or appointments , '' David Axelrod told the CNN program `` State of the Union . '' Axelrod noted that the previous administration had fewer appointees awaiting Senate confirmation at the same point after taking power . `` We have 77 appointees who have not gotten the [ Senate ] vote because they have been held up by the Republican Party , '' Axelrod said . `` Some of them are in very sensitive positions -- Treasury , Homeland Security , and boards like the Labor Relations Board ... where there are a huge number of vacancies . '' Much of the controversy over Obama 's decision to use his authority to make recess appointments focused on Craig Becker , a union lawyer nominated to the National Labor Relations Board . Becker , currently the associate general counsel with the Service Employees International Union and the AFL-CIO , is one of two recess appointees to the board , which oversees relations between unions and employers . The chamber 's 41 Republicans asked Obama in a letter last week to refrain from making Becker a recess appointment . Previously , two conservative Democratic senators had joined Republicans in a filibuster of Becker 's appointment . Now , Republicans and business groups are criticizing the Becker appointment as circumventing the Senate and bowing to pressure from labor allies . Obama appointment to labor board sparks opposition . Now , Republicans and business groups criticize the Becker appointment as circumventing the Senate and bowing to pressure from labor allies . The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said in a statement that `` Mr. Becker 's prolific writings ... suggest a radical view of labor law that flies in the face of established precedent and case law and is far outside the mainstream . '' Sen. Lamar Alexander , R-Tennessee , complained that consideration of presidential nominees is an important role for the Senate . `` What it 's called is checks and balances , '' Alexander , chairman of the Senate Republican Conference , told CNN . `` And what the president has done here is throw fuel on the fire at a time when ... the debate about politics is a very angry debate to begin with . '' In a statement announcing the recess appointments , Obama said he needed to act because Republicans were refusing to exercise their legislative responsibility in the interest of scoring political points . `` Most of the men and women whose appointments I am announcing today were approved by Senate committees months ago , yet still await a vote of the Senate , '' Obama said in the statement issued Saturday . `` At a time of economic emergency , two top appointees to the Department of Treasury have been held up for nearly six months . I simply can not allow partisan politics to stand in the way of the basic functioning of government . '' The Constitution gives a president the power to fill vacancies without the Senate 's confirmation when the legislative body is in recess . `` The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate , by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session , '' states Article II , Section 2 . Such appointees can serve without confirmation through the rest of the current session of Congress . President Bill Clinton made 139 recess appointments during his two terms in office , and President George W. Bush made more than 170 , according to the Congressional Research Service . Official : Obama expected to name new Medicaid , Medicare chief . Besides Becker , the other 14 recess appointees are : . • Jeffrey Goldstein , undersecretary for domestic finance , Department of the Treasury . • Michael F. Mundaca , assistant secretary for tax policy , Department of the Treasury . • Eric L. Hirschhorn , undersecretary for export administration and head of the Bureau of Industry and Security , Department of Commerce . • Michael Punke , deputy trade representative - Geneva , Office of the U.S. Trade Representative . • Francisco `` Frank '' J. Sanchez , undersecretary for international trade , Department of Commerce . • Islam A. Siddiqui , chief agricultural negotiator , Office of the U.S. Trade Representative . • Alan D. Bersin , commissioner , U.S. Customs and Border Protection , Department of Homeland Security . • Rafael Borras , undersecretary for management , Department of Homeland Security . • Jill Long Thompson , Farm Credit Administration Board . • Mark Gaston Pearce , National Labor Relations Board . • Jacqueline A. Berrien , chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission . • Chai R. Feldblum , commissioner , Equal Employment Opportunity Commission . • Victoria A. Lipnic , commissioner , Equal Employment Opportunity Commission . • P. David Lopez , general counsel , Equal Employment Opportunity Commission . CNN 's Kristi Keck contributed to this story .
Republicans trying to ` ` slow and block progress on all fronts , '' he says . Obama on Saturday announced he would make 15 more appointments . Some administration ##s have been held up for months in the Senate . ` ` What it 's called is checks and balances , '' Republican Senator Lamar Alexander says .