Former Sen. Jim DeMint is skeptical that President Obama will be able to work with the new Republican congressional majority.
DeMint, now president of The Heritage Foundation, said Obama showed “very little interest” in working with the opposite party when DeMint was representing South Carolina in the Senate, and he fears the president will not make any attempt to do so now.
“I had hoped after this election he would do as others like Bill Clinton did and look for ways to actually accomplish something,” DeMint told Fox News in an interview.
But, based on the president’s attitude, “It doesn’t appear that he’s listening; it appears he’s still talking.”
When asked if Obama was just “sticking to his beliefs,” DeMint said:
The president takes an oath to faithfully execute the laws. It’s not his job to create the laws. So when he says, ‘If Congress doesn’t act, I will,’ that’s against his oath of office, against the Constitution. He is supposed to faithfully execute the laws that are passed by Congress. He needs to work with them to pass some laws that will move this country in the right direction, not create them on his own.
DeMint said he is optimistic the “new energy” in the Senate will move the country in the right direction.
