White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest blasted Paul Ryan after the Speaker went on national television and falsely blamed President Obama for the Republican refusal to allow a vote on immigration reform.
Yesterday, Ryan blamed Obama for his own refusal to bring the bipartisan immigration reform bill to the floor for a vote.
Ryan said, “Yeah, I think he’s proven untrustworthy on this issue. He tried to go around Congress with an Executive Order to rewrite laws unilaterally. Presidents don’t write laws. Congress writes laws. So yes, I do not believe we should and we won’t bring immigration legislation with a president we cannot trust on this issue. If we believe and have consensus on things like border enforcement, and interior security, then that’s fine.”
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The White House responded by blasting Ryan at the daily press briefing. Press Secretary Josh Earnest reminded the world that it was Ryan who helped to write the bipartisan immigration and then stood with Republican leaders in the House who refused to bring the bill up for a vote.
Earnest said, “It’s a little hard for him to make the claim that somehow the president hasn’t acted in good faith on immigration when Speaker Ryan actively thwarted a compromise he himself helped to broker. And then for him to come back and claim it’s somebody else’s fault? It’s preposterous.”
Paul Ryan’s capacity for rewriting the truth makes Mitt Romney look like Honest Abe, but the White House is having none of it. The administration will be routinely hammering Ryan if his “bold vision” for the House involves blaming President Obama for everything that he refuses to do.
So far, the Ryan regime has been the same as the speakership of John Boehner.
And the White House isn’t going to put up with Speaker Ryan’s excuses and lies.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
