Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, turned angry and defensive when asked to explain his party's endgame on refusing to separate Obamacare from government funding.
Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, turned angry and defensive when asked to explain his party’s endgame on refusing to separate Obamacare from government funding.
As the shutdown and the president’s landmark healthcare law both headed into Day 3, some Republican lawmakers were unable to express what it was they were hoping to achieve. Priebus poured cold water on appearances of a fraying Republican front, saying his party was still united in its goal of delaying the individual mandate portion of the Affordable Care Act.
“Have you been watching the news?” he said, referencing glitches consumers have experienced in trying to access online exchanges. “At the very least, at this very moment, Obamacare’s not ready for prime time.”
When asked by host Thomas Roberts to explain House Republicans’ unwillingness to pass a clean continuing resolution bill without ties to delays in Obamacare, Priebus blamed the president for refusing to negotiate, before turning the crosshairs on his interviewer.
“It sounds like I’m debating the chair of the DNC,” Priebus said to Roberts. Priebus also advised Roberts to watch Schoolhouse Rock for lessons on how a bill becomes law.
“So we have to capitulate to whatever the president wants?” asked Priebus.
“No, you have to govern,” said Roberts.