The White House declared victory Wednesday over congressional Republicans in the budget negotiations that concluded lateTuesday night, saying Democrats beat back the GOP across the board.
White House officials cited a long list of wins over majority Republicans on individual budget items ranging from funding for Planned Parenthood to an overall increase in spending beyond previous “sequestration” caps.
“We feel good about the outcome. We succeeded,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest.
He listed half a dozen budget battles where the White House won, including fighting off efforts to delay Mr. Obama’s plan to accept Syrian refugees, defeating a GOP effort to cut funding to combat climate change, stopping an attempt to block the National Labor Relations Board from expanding employer liability, and halting an effort to repeal a tax on medical devices.
“We walked into these negotiations focused on making sure that Republicans would not succeed in advancing their ideological agenda,” Mr. Earnest said. “There were a variety of attempts… and we did succeed in fighting off those efforts.”
Even on one of the few setbacks for President Obama — the lifting of a ban on U.S. crude oil exports — Mr. Earnest said the loss was not particularly troubling because the U.S. already exports 4.3 million barrels of refined petroleum per day and another 500,000 barrels of crude oil via wavers of the ban.
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To salve that loss, Mr. Earnest also said the budget agreement includes the largest spending on renewable energy in history, and that that Democrats fought off several GOP efforts to undermine Mr. Obama’s plan for a “low-carbon” future.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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