Bush Tells GOP He Will Veto The Democrats' Iraq Spending Bill
President Bush told House Republicans Thursday morning at the White House that he would stand by his threat to veto a spending bill for the war in Iraq if it includes a withdrawal date and over $20 billion in non-emergency funds.
“There’s going to be a lot of vetoes in the next two years,” Bush told the crowd of an estimated 150 lawmakers, according to a member in attendance.
Bush invited Republicans to the White House Thursday morning as a show of unity one week after the House approved a bill to fund the war in a vote that divided sharply along party lines. The Senate is expected to pass a similar measure later today.
During his own address to the crowd, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) told the gathering that there were some concerns at the White House about whether Republicans would have the votes to sustain a veto threat, according to a member and an aide with knowledge of his remarks.
He then said he believed members would hold the line and asked the assembled crowd of lawmakers what they thought. The Republicans in attendance gave their leader a standing ovation as a show of support for the president's veto threat.
The White House needs strong support from Republicans on Capitol Hill in its showdown with congressional Democrats over the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
Likewise, Republicans on the Hill – particularly those in the House – would be devastated if the president undercut them in his negotiations with Democratic leaders now that Boehner and all but two of his members are on-the-record opposing the spending bill in its current form.
The strong public bond between the White House and Republicans on the Hill has frayed in subtle ways since the GOP lost control of both chambers. Congressional Democrats have attacked that vulnerability by scheduling a series of oversight hearings to expose perceived lapses by the administration and by corralling their own often divergent members on a series of tough votes.
Bush made reference to one of those controversies during his remarks Thursday morning, according to one member in attendance, saying, "I have every right to remove US attorneys,” referring to the scandal surrounding eight fired U.S. attorneys that has embroiled his administration in recent weeks.