After two days of condemning Republicans, President Obama is declaring victory now that it’s clear that Congressional Republicans won’t successfully block thousands of refugees from Syria resettling into the United States.
“My expectation is, after the initial spasm of rhetoric, that people will settle down, take a look at the facts, and we’ll be able to proceed,” Obama said during a press conference with Newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Still busy with international travel, Obama spent time in two different press conferences overseas trashing Republicans for being “un-American” for wanting to block additional Syrian refugees into the country.
Yesterday, Obama issued a veto threat of the proposed House “American SAFE Act of 2015” which would codify additional layers of security to the refugee program to ensure that the Syrians entering the country were not a threat to national security.
It is unlikely that a veto-override vote in the House could succeed, and Speaker Paul Ryan has indicated that he will not attempt to defund the program in a larger government funding bill.
Ryan appeared frustrated that Obama was playing politics on the issue after Republican presidential candidates and governors signaled that the program should be blocked.
“I think he is playing politics, it is remarkably unpresidential,” he said on FOX News last night. “I don’t for the life of me understand this.”