Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., on Monday criticized Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for saying in 2010 that his top goal is to make President Obama a one-term president.
McConnell’s comment has often been cited by Democrats as one that shows Republicans aren’t willing to work with Obama, and instead want to block progress on all his policy proposals.
But at a No Labels event in New Hampshire on Monday, both Republicans and Democrats indicated they see McConnell’s comment as the wrong way to approach the relationship between the two parties.
“Absolutely the wrong approach to take,” Reed said when asked what he thought about McConnell’s remarks.
Reed noted that about 70 percent of all House members have only been in Congress under President Obama, and said he believes there’s a way to get the two parties working again. “That is a fresh breath of leadership that we are trying to harness and move forward with, and I can see it happening,” he said.
Reed was on a panel with Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., who said it was “off the rails” for McConnell to make that comment. He said competition between the parties is fine during the election, but said once the elections end, the parties need to work together.
The No Labels meeting was attended by Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump, Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and former Gov. John Kasich.
