Candid

Obama: GOP Tried to ‘Sneak’ Agenda Into Budget

“You want to repeal health care? Go at it.”

A member of the White House press corps seems to have picked up a new glimpse at President Obama’s views on the budget negotiations. Speaking into a microphone he may not have known was still transmitting his words to a nearby press room, Obama criticized Republican attempts to attach partisan issues to this week's spending bill. Telling donors at the Chicago event about Republican attempts to cut Planned Parenthood, Obama recalled telling Speaker John Boehner and his staff, "Put it in a separate bill. We'll call it up. And if you think you can overturn my veto, try it. But don't try to sneak this through." Obama was similarly tough on attempts to defund health care: "I said, 'You want to repeal health care? Go at it. We'll have that debate. You're not going to be able to do that by nickel-and-diming me in the budget. You think we're stupid?'" As for Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan's new budget plan, Obama says that, coming after Ryan voted for two unpaid-for wars and the Bush tax cuts, “it's not on the level.”