House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday said he wants to keep the spotlight on the economy despite the swirling debate over gay marriage and the efforts of some Republicans to stymie the Obama administration's legalization effort.
"They can talk all they want," Boehner said at a briefing with reporters, referring to the administration. "I want to stay focused on the economy."
When asked about GOP efforts to block same-sex marriage, such as House legislation to defund Labor Department efforts to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act or to bar gay wedding ceremonies from being performed at military facilities, Boehner stuck with his message.
"We've got a lot of members who have ideas about what's important to them. The American people are concerned about our economy. They're concerned about jobs.... I'm going to stay focused on jobs."
Boehner did allow that he believes "marriage is the union of one man and one woman," but quickly added that the public is asking, "Where are the jobs?"
On a separate topic, Boehner didn't directly address reports that the House leadership is wary of a resolution to censure Attorney General Eric Holder for his role in the so-called Fast and Furious operation, a botched effort to catch Mexican criminal gangs dealing in drugs and guns. He said only that he wants to "get to the bottom of it" and that the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., is "doing a very good job" looking into the matter.
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