Washington News in Brief

Obama jab earns Huckabee poke

Ex-governor says ‘Prez’ isn’t the one to talk about system

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama joked about former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner last week.

"Mike Huckabee recently said people shouldn't join our military until a true conservative is elected president. Think about that. It was so outrageous, 47 ayatollahs wrote a letter trying to explain to Huckabee how our system works," Obama said.

Obama was referring to a letter about how American government works that was written by U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, signed by 47 Republican senators and addressed to Iranian leaders involved in negotiations about the country's nuclear capabilities.

Huckabee, a potential 2016 Republican contender, commented on the military April 16 while speaking with Iowa talk-radio host Jan Mickelson.

"I might suggest to parents, I'd wait a couple of years until we get a new commander in chief that will once again believe 'one nation under God' and believe that people of faith should be a vital part of the process of not only governing this country, but defending this country," Huckabee said.

On Monday, Huckabee responded to the joke on Twitter, saying, "Obama misquoted me at [the dinner.] I want the brave people who join the military to have a competent Prez who's not hostile to religious liberty," he said. "The one person at [the dinner] who should not joke about others' knowledge of "how the system works" is Obama. #UnconstitutionalExecutiveAmnesty."

TEACHER OF THE YEAR

Arkansas Teacher of the Year Ouida Newton was recognized at the White House on Wednesday along with the other state winners. Newton teaches math at Poyen High School.

on clinton's staff

Former Democratic Party of Arkansas spokesman Patrick Burgwinkle has joined Hillary Rodham Clinton's Iowa staff.

Also, Christina Reynolds will lead Clinton's "rapid response" operation and serve as a communications adviser for press strategy and planning, The New York Times reported Friday.

Reynolds held a similar job in Obama's 2008 general election campaign and led opposition research for both John Edwards White House bids.

ON THE HILL

On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman met with Toni Fraser of Little Rock, who was visiting on behalf of Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind. Also this week, Westerman joined the House's Historically Black Colleges and Universities Caucus. University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is the only historically black land grant university in Arkansas.

U.S. Rep. French Hill, a Republican from Little Rock, met Monday with David Shepard of the Little Rock FBI office. On Wednesday, Hendrix College President William Tsutsui was Hill's guest for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's speech to Congress. Thursday, Hill spoke on the House floor about rebuilding in Mayflower, Vilonia and Paron a year after the towns were hit by a tornado.

On Monday, U.S. Rep. Steve Womack and 67 House members sent Department of Defense Secretary Ashton Carter a letter detailing concern about the Army's Aviation Restructure Initiative. On Tuesday, the Rogers Republican participated in a news conference about the Food and Drug Administration's menu-labeling regulations.

U.S. Sen. John Boozman sat down Tuesday with IdleAir CEO Ethan Garber of West Memphis, Bob Bell with the Northeast Arkansas Education Cooperative and Arkansas Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward. The Republican from Rogers met Wednesday with Arkansas Information Systems Department Director Mark Myers, City Year's leadership from Little Rock and Arkansas Community Bankers.

On Friday he was scheduled to tour the Big River Steel mill in Osceola and speak at the 17th annual Walnut Ridge Army Airfield Reunion in Walnut Ridge.

Cotton, a Republican from Dardanelle, met Thursday with Dr. Whit Knapple, a gastroenterologist from Little Rock, to talk about cancer screening for Medicare patients.

MEMORIAL

Westerman, Womack and Boozman are scheduled to attend memorial services for former Arkansas Rep. John Paul Hammerschmidt at 2 p.m. Monday at First Presbyterian Church, 220 N. Arbor Drive in Harrison.

ex-president's travels

Over the weekend, former President Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton visited several Clinton Foundation projects in Kenya. The visits were part of a larger trip to Tanzania, Liberia, and Morocco.

top FRESHMAN

The National Journal has ranked Arkansas' Cotton as the most powerful new member of the 114th Congress. The rankings were released Wednesday.

"Cotton has garnered more headlines this year than almost any other member of Congress, freshman or otherwise, with his open letter to Iran. The Arkansas freshman has quickly established himself as one of the Senate's most powerful members, a defense hawk whose national standing has made him a go-to for all members on foreign policy issues," the Journal said.

MOBILE OFFICE

Womack's staff is scheduled to be available to answer questions from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Cedarville Public Library at 639 Pirates Way.

Planning to visit the nation's capital? Know something happening in Washington, D.C.? Contact us at (202) 662-7690 or swire@arkansasonline.com.

Metro on 05/03/2015

Upcoming Events