CBS’s Major Garrett Questions Obama’s ‘Intentional’ Timing of Amnesty

Wednesday at the White House Press briefing CBS News’ chief White House correspondent Major Garrett grilled White House press secretary Josh Earnest over if President Barack Obama is “intentionally” timing his executive action amnesty right next to the upcoming government funding resolution to potentially push the republicans into a government shutdown.

Garrett asked, “Just so I understand what the priorities are, because it’s, yes, a hypothetical in a general sense, but it may actually not be a hypothetical. If Republicans put a rider on a continuing resolution, in which a lot of other very important funding mechanisms of the government, Ebola, ISIS, everything else, are there, and this action is the one item that jeopardizes all the rest, which is the president’s more preferred priority?”

Clarifying, he continued, “So in that sense, putting it up against a continuing resolution and government shutdown scenario, is also a discretionary decision of the president’s. It seems like he is intentionally putting it right next to these other things. So, I’m just wondering if that’s a signal he’s trying to send. This is more important than anything else that has to get done before the president and congress wrap up this legislation?”

When Earnest answered, “That’s not the intent. the fact of the matter is, Major, we would have been happy if Congress had actually passed a budget last year when they were supposed to as opposed to just moving forward with this continuing resolution that kicked the can to the middle of  December. This is not an effort to provoke a standoff here. In fact, the fact that republicans have refused to act on immigration reform is why we are where we are anyway. so.”

Garrett interrupted saying, “All I’m saying is if he had done it in September, then you would have a CR in late September. I mean, it is by your choosing they are closely aligned with one another, these two things now. By the president’s own choice.”

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