President Barack Obama will address the some of his fiercest and most vocal critics — the country’s governors, some of whom are actively trying to get his job in 2016.
He’ll deliver remarks at the White House on Monday, as Washington squares off over a looming deadline to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
While it’s up to Congress to reach a deal that would keep the DHS open beyond Friday night, governors could feel the impact of a department shutdown. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson told the governors Sunday that if no deal is reached in time, he could have to suspend grants that help local police and firefighters pay for training and equipment.
“Congress and the executive branch have to find a way to work together on this,” Gov. Gary Herbert, R-Utah, said Sunday at Johnson’s remarks. The governors are in town for the National Governors Association winter meeting.
Republicans made sharp gains in the 2014 midterms just a few months ago, bringing the totally number of GOP governors to 31, with 18 Democrats and one independent.
The President also hosted the governors Sunday night for an annual dinner at the White House, where he called for a spirit of bipartisanship.
“Within this room, we’re not going to agree on everything, but I am committed to working with each and every one of you over the next two years to keep making progress,” he said.
Among those who attended the event Sunday night was Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who’s taken heat for not taking a firm stance on controversial comments by Rudy Giuliani that the president doesn’t love America. Walker also told The Washington Post this weekend that he “doesn’t know” whether Obama is a Christian.
The potential presidential candidate blamed the media for asking what he called “gotcha” questions, while a spokeswoman followed up with the Post, saying, “Of course the governor thinks the president is a Christian,” she said.
Walker later tweeted a selfie with his son at the White House for the dinner.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, in an opinion piece for Fox News, called on the president to start identifying ISIS extremism as an Islamic threat, and he urged the White House to write a new Authorization for Use of Military Force against ISIS that would allow for the option of putting boots on the ground.
“The American people are not as dimwitted as you seem to believe we are. We know that most Muslims have no interest in terrorism,” he writes. “The American people are not looking to blame peace-loving Muslims for anything, but we also demand a leader who will be honest with us about the threat we are facing from radical Islamic terrorists.”
One consistent critic who won’t be in the room on Monday is New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. The likely 2016 Republican presidential hopeful traveled home to Trenton over the weekend.