Faced with the grim implications of sequester cuts on various Government departments and other looming budget battles, US President Barack Obama has changed his strategy to deal with the Republican lawmakers. After his campaign-style attacks failed to make the Republicans budge, Obama has, perhaps for the first time, begun to assiduously court an assortment of Republicans in the Congress.
Following the dinner he threw last week for 12 senior Republican Senators at a Washington boutique hotel and paid for it out of his own pocket, Obama has held a luncheon meeting with Congressman Paul Ryan, the former Republican vice-presidential candidate and House Budget Committee chairman.
This week, Obama will be on Capitol Hill for four separate rounds of meetings with Republican and Democratic lawmakers of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Analysts believe that the fall in his approval ratings in some polls over his handling of the sequester crisis has prompted Obama’s unprecedented outreach to Republicans.
The across-the-board sequestration cuts of $85 billion kicked in on March 1 as the two parties failed to agree on a formula. Supporters of the new efforts say if some deal is worked out even at this late stage, the rigours of the sequester that involves job losses and pay-cuts through furloughs could be minimised.
Whatever the final outcome of this outreach, the Republicans have welcomed the Obama initiative, but they appear to be divided on the prospects of hammering out a compromise. “He is moving in the right direction. I’m proud of him for doing it. I think it’s a great thing,” said Tom Coburn, the Republican Senator from Oklahoma.
Ryan himself remarked that it was the first time that he had ever had a conversation with the president lasting more than a few minutes of televised exchanges, but added that the next steps are unclear.