White House: Keeping Steve Scalise as House Leader Says a Lot About the GOP's 'Values' and 'Priorities

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said keeping Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) as House majority whip after he acknowledged speaking to a white supremacist organization says a lot about the Republican Party's "values" and "priorities."

AP

“Their leaders are going to be more prominent and will send a clear signal about what their priorities are, about what their values are and what their conference represents,” Earnest told reporters Monday. “They will have to decide for themselves what kind of message it sends to elevate someone who says they are David Duke without the baggage."

Earnest was referring to a comment published Saturday in the Baton Rouge newspaper The Advocate, in which columnist Stephanie Grace wrote: “This is what I remember about the first time I met Steve Scalise nearly 20 years ago: He told me he was like David Duke without the baggage.”

Scalise last week apologized for giving a 2002 speech to a group associated with former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, calling it "a mistake I regret."

Earnest noted that Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus “says Republicans have to do more to broaden their appeal to women, minorities, gays and others. The success of their political party depends on it.”

Asked about President Barack Obama's willingness to meet and work with Scalise, Earnest said he would do so.

“The president will meet with who Republicans choose to serve in leadership positions in their conference," Earnest said. "If the Republicans make a decision to keep Mr. Scalise in a leadership position, the president will meet with him in order to get some things done for the middle class.”