White House takes aim at GOP’s ‘inept leadership’
By Steve Benen
From the White House podium, press secretary Josh Earnest is usually pretty circumspect in his criticisms of lawmakers. Yesterday, however, President Obama’s spokesperson was far less guarded – the Senate Republicans’ handling of Loretta Lynch’s Attorney General nomination, and their willingness to connect this to an unrelated human-trafficking bill, was just too much for Earnest.
“You’ve got to hand it to Republicans, that they’ve taken even a measure as common sense as combating human trafficking and turned it into a partisan controversy.
“That is not a reflection of a flaw in the bill. It’s a reflection of inept leadership.”
Specifically on Lynch, the White House press secretary added that the A.G. nominee is being subjected to “an unconscionable delay.” Reflecting on whether or not President Obama can “trust” GOP leaders on Capitol Hill, Earnest noted that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) vowed to bring Lynch’s nomination to the floor this week, before reversing course.
“There is no question that Republicans are playing politics with the nomination of the nation’s top law enforcement official, and it should come to an end,” Earnest added.
For his part, McConnell told reporters yesterday that the previous Senate Democratic majority could have voted on Lynch during last year’s lame-duck session, but they didn’t, delaying the vote until the new Congress. McConnell “failed to point out that that delay was at his request,” the president’s spokesperson reminded reporters yesterday.
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http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/white-house-takes-aim-gops-inept-leadership?cid=sm_fb_maddow
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