In an op-ed published online Tuesday in the Washington Post, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) continued the Republican criticism of President Barack Obama for refusing to negotiate amid a government shutdown and a looming debt crisis.
“The president not only has refused to negotiate on issues of debt and spending but also has mocked the very idea of engaging with Congress,” Cantor wrote. “President Obama has repeatedly made clear that he feels it is beneath the office of the presidency to work in a bipartisan way with the legislative branch.”
Cantor argued that Obama has not “found a way to lead in divided government,” while recalling the last debt limit negotiations in 2011.
“Just two years ago, President Obama and House Republicans came to an agreement to raise the debt ceiling and implement much-needed reductions in spending,” he wrote. “It wasn’t a perfect agreement, but it, too, moved the nation forward. For the first time since the Korean War, the United States will have two consecutive years of reduced nominal spending.”
Following those negotiations, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said that he received “98 percent” of what he wanted in the deal.
“I’m pretty happy,” Boehner said at the time.
