April 2nd, 2012
06:07 PM ET
GSA Administrator Johnson resigns The head of the General Services Administration resigned Monday after a scathing report which called government spending on a training seminar in Las Vegas "excessive, wasteful, and in some cases impermissible." In some election-year damage control, the White House quickly put out a statement that President Obama was “outraged” when he found out about the spending. GSA Administrator Martha Johnson admitted in a letter of resignation that her agency had made a "significant mis-step" and that "taxpayer dollars were squandered." A GSA Inspector General's report on the 2010 GSA "Western Regions" training conference in Las Vegas shows that the government spent more than $822,000 for the 300 attendees including $75,000 on team building exercises, $6000 on commemorative coins and $6,000 on canteens, keychains, t-shirts. President Obama who was informed about the report last week before his South Korean trip and administration officials say he acted quickly. "[H]e was outraged by the excessive spending, questionable dealings with contractors, and disregard for taxpayer dollars." White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew said in a statement Monday. "[H]e was outraged by the excessive spending, questionable dealings with contractors, and disregard for taxpayer dollars," White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew said in a statement..  President Obama (center) holds a press conference in the Rose Garden with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper (right) and Mexican President Felipe Calderon (left).
April 2nd, 2012
03:55 PM ET
President Obama: Overturning Individual Mandate Would be "Unprecedented, Extraordinary Step" President Obama’s day of international diplomacy was interrupted Monday when a reporter from Bloomberg asked him a question on domestic politics, inciting a strong defense of the president's signature health care reform legislation. Standing with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon during a press conference in the Rose Garden, Obama was asked about the possibility that the individual mandate could be deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. He responded by saying that he was confident the court would not take the “unprecedented, extraordinary step” of deeming the bill unconstitutional. He then pointed to the popular conservative talking point about the dangers of judicial activism, contending that if the Supreme Court threw out the mandate they would be circumventing the legislative process. “I'd just remind conservative commentators that for years what we've heard is the biggest problem on the bench was judicial activism or a lack of judicial restraint, that an unelected group of people would somehow overturn a duly constituted and passed law,” Obama said. “Well, this is a good example. And I'm pretty confident that this - this court will recognize that and not take that step.” Here’s the president’s full answer: FULL POST  Ryan campaigned with Mitt Romney over the weekend.
April 2nd, 2012
02:21 PM ET
Obama to hit Ryan’s budget plan (CNN) – President Obama is set to hit back against Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget proposal Tuesday, less than a week after the controversial measure was approved by the House of Representatives largely along partisan lines. According to senior administration officials, the president’s remarks at an Associated Press luncheon in Washington will echo the themes of economic fairness and shared responsibility the president advanced during a speech in Osawatomie, Kansas last fall and again at the State of the Union in January. But this time, the president will push back on the Ryan plan specifically, largely because the measure has been praised by the Republican presidential candidates and Ryan himself campaigned for leading candidate Mitt Romney over the weekend. Moreover, these senior White House officials say, Americans are likely to oppose the plan when they learn of the deep cuts to popular entitlement programs it calls for. The speech is the latest effort by the president to frame the upcoming election as a defining choice over which direction the economy goes, senior administration officials also say. Obama will argue that should a future Republican president enact a budget that resembles Ryan’s plan, middle class Americans will be hit especially hard and the fragile economic recovery is likely to regress. He will also again press for the so-called “Buffet Rule,” a proposal that so far hasn’t gained significant traction in Congress. Under the proposal, all Americans making over $1 million would pay at least a 30 percent tax rate, regardless of whether their income constituted capital gains or not. Obama will speak about the measure in the broader context of tax reform, but will also express support for an upcoming Senate vote that addresses the proposal specifically.  The first family at the 2011 White House Easter Egg Roll.
April 2nd, 2012
01:52 PM ET
Easter Egg Roll SuspenseThe anticipation is building for some 30,000 kids and their parents for this year's 134th annual rite of spring at the White House: The Easter Egg Roll. Now just one week out and the White House is teasing us with snippets of information. Monday they released the much anticipated list of costumed characters who will be prancing around the White House lawn. There are all the usual suspects like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Clifford the Big Red Dog and the Cat in the Hat. But they'll be joined by movie characters, Alex the Lion from Madagascar 3 and those Penguins of Madagascar who are described on their website as an "elite strike force with unmatched commando skills." Hmm, the Secret Service might take exception to that! The First Lady is putting her imprint on the festivities tailoring the activities to promote health and wellness keeping with this year's theme “Let’s Go, Let’s Play, Let’s Move!” Michelle Obama's signature "Let's Move" initiative tackles the problem of childhood obesity. FULL POST 
April 2nd, 2012
01:16 PM ET
Hillary Clinton on the sidelines in 2012(CNN) – She proved to be an important ally for President Obama on the campaign trail in 2008, but don’t bet on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton making a return appearance to the stump this time around. A senior administration official said Monday Clinton would be sitting out the 2012 election, as has been customary for past secretary of states during the campaign season. The position is an apolitical one, the senior administration official explained, and dispatching Clinton on the campaign trail would compromise that. After their bitter primary battle simmered in 2008, Clinton and Obama appeared jointly at several events, fueling speculation the president would choose his former rival as his running mate. The former New York senator remains extremely popular with women voters – a demographic the president won by a healthy 13-point margin in 2008 and one he will need to fare equally well with next November. But the entire Clinton family won’t be absent from 2012 politics entirely. Former President Bill Clinton told MSNBC Monday he and the president have three fundraisers planned in the coming months. 
April 2nd, 2012
09:47 AM ET
POTUS' Day Ahead: The three amigosPresident Obama hosts his neighbors to the south and north Monday, as the three leaders discuss important issues on energy, trade, and immigration. The White House has shut out the press to most of the president's meetings with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon. However the three men will appear at a joint press conference at 1:15 p.m. Full schedule |
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