WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Thursday said House Republicans were "out of step with the vast majority of Americans" in their support of the placement of Confederate flags at federal cemeteries. House Speaker John Boehner pulled a spending bill off the floor after Southern Republicans pushed for a vote to allow the flag to be displayed and sold at federal sites and gift shops. Boehner said he didn't support the measure. On Wednesday, Republicans in the chamber allowed Democrats to add language to a spending bill that would have removed the flag. Boehner said he wants to set up a bipartisan working group on the issue. Earnest also noted that Republicans have declined to criticize the "race-baiting rhetoric of a leading Republican presidential candidate." He did not refer to Donald Trump by name.