Durbin did not specify which leader made the comment. 'I cannot even stand to look at you'

The No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, Sen. Dick Durbin, said in a Facebook post that a House Republican leader told off President Barack Obama during a negotiation meeting, and that GOP leaders are so disrespectful it’s practically impossible to have a conversation with them.

But Wednesday afternoon, both the White House and House speaker’s office denied his claims.


“In a ‘negotiation’ meeting with the president, one GOP House Leader told the president: ‘I cannot even stand to look at you,’” Durbin wrote in a post on his Facebook page over the weekend.

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Calling a government shutdown strategy from Republicans “disastrous,” Durbin did not specify which leader made the comment, what the context was or how the president responded. The only time GOP House leaders met with Obama during the shutdown was on Oct. 10, a meeting that Durbin did not attend.

The Senate majority whip offered the comment as rebuttal to the Republican argument that Obama does not do enough to communicate with Republicans, essentially saying to do so is impossible.

“What are the chances of an honest conversation with someone who has just said something so disrespectful?” Durbin wrote.

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However, both the White House and the House speaker’s office denied Durbin’s account of events.

Asked about the post in the White House daily briefing, press secretary Jay Carney said he checked with a participant of the meeting in question.

“I looked into this and spoke with somebody who was in that meeting and it did not happen,” Carney said.

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House Speaker John Boehner’s spokesman also said the post was not about the top House Republican.

“The speaker certainly didn’t say that and does not recall anyone else doing so,” Michael Steel said.

Sen. Durbin’s office had no comment on the post and offered no further details.

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But the speaker’s office called on him to explain.

“Sen. Durbin’s accusation is a serious one, and it appears to have been invented out of thin air. The senator should disclose who told him this account of events, retract his reckless allegation immediately, and apologize,” Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said in a statement sent out to reporters.