The National Republican Senatorial Committee launched a petition last week to protest what it described as the “latest anti-religion pursuit” by the Obama administration, but it looks like the group is already abandoning its crusade.
A webpage that took aim at President Obama for his “plans to close the U.S. Embassy to the Vatican” is nowhere to be found on the NRSC’s website. The original URL (http://yourvoice.nrsc.org/landing/vatican-embassy/) now directs back to the NRSC’s homepage.
“The media is reporting that President Obama plans to close the U.S. Embassy to the Vatican,” the page read. “This is just the latest anti-religion pursuit of this Administration, a slap in the face to Catholic-Americans around the country that weakens America’s position as a global leader.”
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) joined the NRSC’s condemnation, wondering on Twitter if the purported closure was the White House’s “retribution for Catholic organizations opposing Obamacare.”
Why would our President close our Embassy to the Vatican? Hopefully, it is not retribution for Catholic organizations opposing Obamacare.
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) November 27, 2013
But the embassy isn’t actually closing. It’s re-locating to a larger U.S. compound in Rome, a move that will save more than $1.4 million and bolster security. Vatican officials even dismissed the re-location as a non-issue.
A CNN fact check labeled the NRSC’s claim “misleading” and a senior State Department official told UPI that there has been a “series of myths” associated with the embassy re-location.
The NRSC did not respond to TPM’s request for comment.
