President Obama, GOP Senators Break Bread
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) — President Obama and Republican senators had a “good exchange of ideas” Wednesday evening during their roughly two-hour-long dinner at the posh Jefferson Hotel, just blocks from the Whi…
Obama Heads to Capitol Hill for GOP Senate Meeting
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — President Obama is coming to Capitol Hill next week to meet with Republicans in hopes of making some progress on the budget impasse.The visit with Senate Republicans, during their weekly lunch meeting on Thursd…
Obama to Nominate Walmart’s Sylvia Mathews Burwell as Budget Director
Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — President Obama will nominate a veteran of the Clinton administration and Walmart’s current philanthropic director to lead his Office of Management and Budget on Monday.A senior administration official tells …
Sen. Kelly Ayotte Keeps Door Open for ‘Big Agreement’ on Budget
ABC News(WASHINGTON) — While the White House and Congress failed to reach an agreement to avoid automatic spending cuts that began taking effect on March 1, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., said she is still open to the idea of a “big agreement”…
Obama’s Weekly Address: Yet Another Call For Compromise On The Sequester
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) — The morning after $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts kicked in, President Obama is calling once more for lawmakers to compromise to halt the damaging impact the sequester will have on t…
President Obama Explains Legal Argument for Same-Sex Marriage
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — President Obama strongly suggested Friday that his interpretation of the Constitution does support a fundamental right to same-sex marriage, even if he didn’t put that argument in writing before the Supre…
Sequester Government Shutdown Looks Unlikely
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — It may not be readily obvious from the blizzard of news out there Friday on the “sequester,” but a government shutdown became significantly less likely Friday, even as the automatic budget cuts barreled…
Obama’s “Jedi Mind Meld” a Sci Fi Faux Pas
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) — It had no real bearing on his press conference about the very serious matter of the U.S. deficit and the upcoming sequester, but the President showed himself to be neither committed Trekkie nor St…
Obama Calls Sequester ‘Dumb,’ Blames Uncooperative Republicans
ABC News(WASHINGTON) — Dumb, inexcusable and unnecessary. Just a few of the adjectives President Obama used to describe the $85 billion in spending cuts that will kick-in Friday after a last ditch effort to broker a compromise with congressional leade…
Obama, Republican Leaders to Meet as Sequester Cuts Look Likely
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — The budget ax is about to fall, and there’s little lawmakers in Washington are doing to stop it.Despite a parade of dire warnings from the White House, an $85 billion package of deep automatic spending cuts a…
Upcoming Fiscal Deadline May Prove Helpful in Dealing with Sequester
iStockPhoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — As unbelievable as it might seem, yet another fiscal deadline hangs over Washington. Unless Congress agrees to extend funding by March 27, the federal government will shut down, but this latest deadline may actuall…
Eric Holder Worries About How Stressed Obama Is, Misses ‘Hanging Out’
Chris Graythen/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — In an exclusive interview with ABC’s Pierre Thomas on Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder expressed concern about the president and his workload.
“I worry about him sometimes, you know, because…
Obama Backs Off Warnings About Sequester
Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — After weeks of outlining the dire consequences of the looming across-the-board spending cuts, President Obama on Wednesday night softened his warnings, saying the sequester is “not a cliff, but it is a tumbl…
Obama to Meet with Congressional Leaders After Sequester
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — They are finally going to have a meeting.A congressional source with direct knowledge of the plans tells ABC News’ Jonathan Karl that the top four congressional leaders — Speaker of the House John Boehner, …
White House: No Price Tag for Presidential Access
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) — The White House Monday pushed back against reports that President Obama’s nonprofit advocacy group, Organizing for Action, is offering wealthy donors access to the president. “No,&rdqu…
Jindal to Obama: ‘Stop Scaring the American People’
Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Gov. Bobby Jindal barely had time to finish dessert in the State Dining Room before he came to cameras on the North Drive of the White House to accuse his lunch host of fear-mongering about impending spending cuts…
Michelle Obama’s Image Altered By Iranian News Agency
The First Lady in the pre-touchup photo. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(NEW YORK) — A semi-official Iranian news agency called Fars altered an image of Michelle Obama at the Academy Awards to appeal to their more conservative readers.An imag…
Obama Enlists Governors to Help Get Sequester Deal
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) — With less than five days to prevent $85 billion in sweeping, automatic budget cuts, President Obama Monday asked the nation’s governors to help pressure Congress to compromise on a deal to a…
Obama Hosts Governors for Annual Gala Dinner
JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — The National Governors Association’s winter meeting is under way in the nation’s capital and on Sunday night, the state executives descended on the White House for their annual black-tie dinner.Pr…
White House Brief Foreshadows Supreme Court Arguments on Gay Marriage
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The White House has asked the Supreme Court to strike down a main provision of the Defense of Marriage Act, but in the legal paper filed with the judiciary it may have signaled a wider push for same-sex marriage as…