'People are calling for his head'
By JONATHAN ALLEN & JAKE SHERMAN | 6/17/10 12:46 PM EDT
Republicans, particularly Gulf state lawmakers, are furious at Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) and may ask him to cede his job as top Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee in the wake of his apology to BP Thursday.
"People are calling for his head," said a GOP member of the committee.
Indeed, Rep. Jeff Miller, a Florida Republican, was the first in his party to call for Barton to resign as the ranking Republican on the committee after hearing Barton call the $20 billion cleanup fund a White House “shakedown.”
“I am shocked by Congressman Joe Barton’s reprehensible comments that the government should apologize for the ‘shakedown’ of BP,” Miller said. “BP has caused the greatest ecological and environmental disaster our nation has ever seen.
“I condemn Mr. Barton’s statement,” Miller said. “Mr. Barton’s remarks are out of touch with this tragedy and I feel his comments call into question his judgment and ability to serve in a leadership on the Energy and Commerce Committee. He should step down as Ranking Member of the Committee”
Talk on the House floor at a Thursday morning vote already centered on the potential fallout of Barton's apology. Some Republicans, led by Miller, are calling for him to lose his status on the committee, but no formal decision has been made.
"It's fair to say there were some people who were very upset," added a GOP leadership aide.
Fellow Texas Rep. Pete Sessions declined to address whether Barton should step down.
"I don't feel like apologies are in order," Rep. Mike Burgess (R-Texas) said of Barton's remarks to BP CEO Tony Hayward at the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said whether Barton is forced aside is "up to the Republicans."
Barton, headed into Minority Leader John Boehner's office, said calls for his resignation are "news to me."
Asked whether he planned to stay put as top Republican on the committee, he declared "Damn straight."
Lawmakers were "hunkered down" in Boehner's office to discuss the flap, according to the member who said people were calling for Barton's resignation.
Read more: politico.com |
