BARACK OBAMA: Don't Blame Me For The Canceled White House Tours
Mar 13, 2013, 19:44 IST
Less than a week after the Obama administration suspended public tours of the White House in response to sequestration budget cuts, the President appears to be caving to Republican backlash over the decision. In an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos that aired Wednesday morning, Obama said that he is asking the Secret Service to revisit their decision to shut down the tours. He added that the agency made the call without input from the West Wing, citing the need for furloughs. “What I’m asking them is are there ways, for example, for us to accommodate school groups … who may have traveled here with some bake sales," Obama said. "Can we make sure that – kids, potentially, can...still come to tour?" "I’m always amused when people on the one hand say, the sequester doesn’t mean anything and the administration’s exaggerating its effects; and then whatever the specific effects are, they yell and scream and say, ‘Why are you doing that?’” Obama added. “Well, there are consequences to Congress not having come up with a more sensible way to reduce the deficit.” Watch the full interview below: