President Takes Last Stab At Warming Relations With Congress

Outreach to Congress has been the focus of a new White House initiative that the administration helps will advance his legislative agenda.

Under the direction of new legislative affairs director and longtime Senate operative Katie Beirne Fallon, Obama’s weekly schedule now includes time for phone calls to lawmakers. Members are getting more invitations to fly on Air Force One and attend Obama’s events around the country. An important post on the legislative affairs team that was vacant for more than two years has been filled by a Capitol Hill veteran who now represents the congressional perspective in White House meetings on health care, climate change and minimum wage.

More than two months into the year, the moves are being cheered by Democrats and winning tepid praise from Republican leaders, who say they’re now in more regular contact with the White House. Among them is Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who said Fallon is the first White House legislative director to stop by his office since Obama became president.

Yet it appears unlikely that the White House’s attempt to warm relations with Congress will help Obama advance his legislative agenda. Republicans have little incentive to improve ties with Obama at this point in his second term, particularly given his sagging approval ratings. Both parties are making clear they have little appetite for tackling big bills in an election year.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.