White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough sat down with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday for a preview of the President’s message.
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But speaking on “Meet the Press”, McDonough repeatedly dismissed the notion that the president’s campaign pledge on guns meant he’d be backing Clinton before the party chose its nominee. He said the administration works closely with its allies to “make sure that we have a rock-solid agreement” to keep the former Gitmo detainees out of the fight.
However, later on the president backed away on his campaign promise due to stiff opposition from Congress. “That’s the job of the party to make those decisions and then they’ll take a look at the agendas and the positions of those candidates, then we’ll make some final decisions”.
And when asked if Senator Sanders’ gun policy warrants executive approval, McDonough said Obama’s statement doesn’t exclusively apply to the presidential primary – it extends into all upcoming elections, be it presidential, congressional, or gubernatorial.
The president’s decision to stay above the fray in the primary has plenty of precedent. Clinton has, however, received a couple of notable endorsements over the weekend. House Speaker Paul Ryan said it was the first of several “big ideas” that Congress would embrace this year in advance of November elections, to encourage voters to elect a Republican president.
The Pentagon recently announced the repatriation of Guantanamo Bay detainee Faez Mohammed Ahmed Al-Kandari to Kuwait after multiple agencies “determined continued law of war detention of Al-Kandari does not remain necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the security of the United States”.
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It is routine for a sitting president to reserve endorsement until the party’s primary is over. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx stepped out as the fourth Obama cabinet member to publicly support Clinton during a campaign in Iowa. However, it was rumored that Obama could’ve endorsed Vice President Joe Biden had he chosen to run for the nomination, according to Politico.
