SUNDAY SHOWS

Barney Frank Won't Invite Obama to His Wedding, Citing Secret Service

Updated: May 20, 2012 | 3:30 p.m.
May 20, 2012 | 11:59 a.m.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., will marry his partner in July, but there's one person he's not including on the guest list: President Obama.

"If he and his wife wanted to come, I would be delighted and honored to have them. But he will bring the Secret Service," Frank said on C-SPAN's Newsmakers on Sunday, adding that "it would ruin the party to have the Secret Service" there.

"I don't want to be accused of having shut down the entire region for a five mile radius on a holiday weekend," he said.

Frank, who is gay, has loudly praised Obama's statement in support of gay marriage just a few weeks back. But Obama's security requirements are apparently a bit too much for the famously acerbic congressman, who took office in 1980 and has announced that he will seek reelection when his term ends in 2013.

"I'm not critical of [the Secret Service], but they can go take their layered protection of the president somewhere else. Not to my party," he said.

See all NJ’s Sunday show coverage | Get Sunday show coverage in your inbox

Get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox. Sign up for National Journal's morning alert, Wake-Up Call, and afternoon newsletter, The Edge. Subscribe here.


Leave A Comment
The National Journal Group has the right (but not the obligation) to monitor the comments and to remove any materials it deems inappropriate.
Comments powered by Disqus
Follow National Journal
Related Content
Most Read Articles
Expert Opinions
Transportation Experts

Hands-Free Won't Cut It

June 18, 2013

Latest Response by Robert L. Darbelnet: Consider the Opportunity Before Us

Energy Experts

What's the Future of Electric Cars?

June 17, 2013

Latest Response by Phyllis Cuttino: TBD

Energy Experts

What's the Future of Electric Cars?

June 14, 2013

Latest Response by Brigham McCown: Electric Cars and Their Dirty Secret

More Expert Opinions »
Columns
Major Garrett: All Powers

Obama’s Second-Term G-8 Dance Card: Judo With Putin, Trade, and Syria

June 18, 2013
The president returns to Berlin five years later less the rock star and more the battle-hardened pragmatist.
Josh Kraushaar: Against the Grain

Why Democrats Are Already Jumping Aboard the Hillary Clinton Bandwagon

June 18, 2013
Claire McCaskill's endorsement was a bow to reality: Democrats don't want to challenge Clinton in 2016.
Charlie Cook: Off to the Races

No Guarantee of a GOP Senate Majority

June 17, 2013
The disproportionate exposure for the chamber’s Democrats is very clear. But can Republicans capitalize on their opportunities?
More Columns »