On MSNBC’s Meet the Press, White House chief of staff Jack Lew argued that the economy is improving, saying it is now up Congress, and particularly Republicans in the House, not to drag their feet on issues like the payroll tax cut and trip up the recovery.
“The thing that we have to be careful about is to make sure that Washington doesn’t get in the way,” Lew said. Last year, he added, several times Washington’s disfunction added to the uncertainty in the economy, referring to the threat of government shutdowns and the close call on the debt limit.
After host David Gregory asked Lew about the fact that the Senate has not put forward a budget, Lew responded by bringing up the filibuster, then pivoted to House Republicans again. “Congress didn’t do a great job last year,” he said. “It drove right to the edge of the cliff on occasion after occasion. I actually think it’s unfair to blame the United States Senate for that.”
