White House adviser John Podesta chided a top senator for berating the Obama administration’s plan to enact more protections against oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s wildlife refuge.
Speaking with reporters in New Delhi during Obama’s trip to India, Podesta said he wasn’t surprised that Republicans vowed to fight against the new restrictions on oil and natural gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
“As we’ve seen, a number of the administrative actions, executive actions that the president has taken under existing laws and authorities that he has … have been opposed by Republicans in Congress,” Podesta said.
Podesta specifically called out Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, saying her reaction was not warranted. “We don’t think that the reaction that particularly Sen. Murkowski had to this announcement was warranted,” he said.
“I was hoping that a more balanced reaction would be forthcoming from some of the people who have commented on this. We hope that we can find cooperation so that that wilderness designation ultimately can go through in the Congress,” Podesta said.
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