WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 16: U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) speaks during a news conference January 16, 2013 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. House Democrats held a news conference to announce new legislation to eliminate the federal debt ceiling. Credit: Getty Images
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) on Friday admitted that he has "a little egg" on his face, courtesy of Republicans.
Speaking on the House floor, Johnson said he previously "assured you there was no chance sequestration would kick in." However, when push came to shove, the GOP refused to back down and decided that sequestration was better than no spending cuts at all.
"You know, I've got egg on my face. Really, it's more like manure on my face, I feel. And so bam, it is what it is," he said.
Johnson is the same congressman who introduced legislation to abolish the nation's debt limit so the country could spend as much as it pleased without worrying about racking up too much debt.
Sequestration will result in $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts over the next 10 years, with about $85 billion of the cuts occurring in 2013.
It has been reported by several media outlets that the original idea for sequestration came from Jack Lew, Obama's former budget director. Lew eventually became the president's chief of staff and recently was confirmed as Treasury secretary.
The White House has been extremely critical of sequestration and has blamed Republicans for "making this choice." In reality, it seems that the White House crafted the sequestration cuts and then the GOP called the bluff when Democrats failed to offer any real spending cuts or reforms.
(H/T: Weasel Zippers)
