White House downplays Dem defections on Syrian refugees bill
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White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Friday sought to downplay the defection of 47 House Democrats on a GOP bill to halt the Obama administration's plan to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees into the U.S. this year, despite President Obama's veto threat and last-minute lobbying by administration officials.
"I'm not sure that the analysis holds that the efforts by the White House were counterproductive; they just weren't as productive as we would have liked," spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters traveling with Obama en route to Malaysia on Friday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I think, just for context, it's about a third of the House Democratic Caucus who expressed disagreement with our position," Earnest continued. "The second is that a substantial number of House Democrats have actually made the very same case that [the president] has made about the moral responsibility of the United States and the impact that bringing refugees into the United States has on our leadership and standing in the world."