Appearing on CBS This Morning, Tuesday, Washington Post congressional correspondent Ed O’Keefe justified the questionably legal DACA action by Barack Obama, spinning that the Democrat was forced by Congress to make the move. Ed O’Keefe also attacked Donald Trump for not meeting with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. He lectured, “[Trump’s] got to kiss the ring.”
Talking to co-host Charlie Rose, O’Keefe spun Obama’s 2012 action via executive order: “President Obama had to do DACA because Congress wasn't acting on immigration reform and he felt there was an immediate need and a fix.”
Is that how it works? If Congress decides to not do something, a President “has to” respond unilaterally? So Trump can just end ObamaCare because Congress hasn’t acted?
O’Keefe defended Dreamers as more than just children:
They're not all high school and college kids in Texas, California and Florida. They work for Fortune 500 companies. They teach in schools. They work in hospitals. They are our colleagues in journalism. I've heard from at least one who said, "I may have to leave the country if this doesn't get sorted out."
The Post journalist put the blame on Trump, lamenting, “He has not looked Chuck Schumer or Nancy Pelosi in the eye or picked up the phone, really, to talk to them at all. That shows you how fractured Washington is.” O’Keefe demanded of Trump, “So, he’s got to go kiss the ring and get them on board.”
When, in the world of liberal journalists, do Democrats have to kiss the ring of Republicans?
[The bias on CBS This Morning was sponsored by Friskies cat food, Toyota and Gain laundry detergent.]
A transcript is below:
CBS This Morning
9/5/17
8:04am ETJEFF GLOR: Tomorrow, the House will vote on the Hurricane Harvey relief bill and over the next few weeks, lawmakers have to vote on the debt ceiling, approve spending bills to keep the government open and reauthorize the National Flood Insurance program and the FAA. CBS News contributor Ed O'Keefe is a congressional reporter for the Washington Post. Ed, welcome back.
ED O’KEEFE: Good to see you. I was pulling up my to do list.
GAYLE KING: Very long to do list.
GLOR: Harvey, DACA, budget bill, debt ceiling, tax reform, potentially health care again to start.
O’KEEFE: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And all sorts of other factors that could muck that up. You've still got the Russia investigation going. You wonder if lawmakers try to make hay of what the President was doing and saying last month about Charlottesville. All sorts of things. The big ones obviously of course, you know, the money. Keeping the government open, raising the debt limit and dealing with Harvey.
KING: With DACA is there a legislative solution possible, do you think?
O’KEEFE: There are several legislative solutions, Gayle, sitting there ready to be considered as soon as Congress gets its act together and do it. It's a place that can screw up a sure thing very easily and with six months they may finally be compelled to do it.
KING: When you’re are talking about DACA, it’s not little kids. I think people hear the word Dreamers and you think of children. We are talking — this could affect the work economy and work force in this country.
O’KEEFE: Good to point out to people. There’s 800,000 people across the country, roughly, who are recipients. They're not all high school and college kids in Texas, California and Florida. They work for Fortune 500 companies. They teach in schools. They work in hospitals. They are our colleagues in journalism. I've heard from at least one who said, “I may have to leave the country if this doesn't get sorted out.”
ROSE: Can the President do this in three months? Because after 2018 all eyes become political having to do with the re-election campaign of all those members of Congress and some members of the senate.
O’KEEFE: I think anything that doesn't really get done by Christmas is going to have a harder time with the exception of DACA because there is that six month —
ROSE: He's giving it down, giving it to Congress.
O’KEEFE: He's kicking it back to them because remember Obama — President Obama had to do DACA because Congress wasn't acting on immigration reform and he felt there was an immediate need and a fix. So Trump is saying to them “Here, take it back and finally sort this out for everyone.”
ROSE: Has he done himself good by beating up on Mitch McConnell?
O’KEEFE: That’ a good question. Not necessarily if you want to get things done easily this month in Washington. You need Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan working with you in tandem and all these stories about yelling at each other on the phone and disagreements about how the health care debate went and the fact that Republicans aren’t protecting him on Russia are not helpful. He's having his first face to face with McConnell and Ryan tomorrow to talk about tax reform and, get this, his first face to face meeting with Democratic leaders since late January. Right after his inauguration. He has not looked Chuck Schumer or Nancy Pelosi in the eye or picked up the phone, really, to talk to them at all. That shows you how fractured Washington is.
KING: What do you think will come out of this, Ed? Better late than never, right?
O’KEEFE: This is the time of year when Republicans need Democrats to get things done. So he's got to go kiss the ring and get them on board.
GLOR: So the President just tweeted directing a message to Congress, here it is: “Congress, get ready to do your job, DACA.” Pretty simple tweet. These threats, though, to Congress saying, “Do your job” haven't worked so far.
O’KEEFE: No, but I think on this one there is — there is a human element to it and I think this is one where they — both parties understand they've got to do something to help these people. That pressure might actually work.
ROSE: Do you think this president is serious about shutting the government down?
O’KEEFE: Not at this point. He was and then Harvey happened. They understand that the White House — that to hold up government funding and the entire federal government over his pledge to build a border wall with Harvey, with the situation, but that said look for December. It looks like they'll pass a short term, three month measure to keep things operating at normal.
KING: This is always a stay tuned kind of president.
O’KEEFE: It absolutely is.
