In urging lawmakers to vote for his tax deal, President Obama is using one of his go-to lines from the healthcare debate, according to a Democratic lawmaker.
Obama is telling members of Congress that failure to pass the tax-cut legislation could result in the end of his presidency, Rep. Peter DeFazio (Ore.) said.
"The White House is putting on tremendous pressure, making phone calls, the president is making phone calls saying this is the end of his presidency if he doesn't get this bad deal," he told CNN's Eliot Spitzer.
But the White House shot back late on Wednesday.
"The president hasn’t said anything remotely like that and has never spoken with Mr. DeFazio about the issue," said White House spokesman Tommy Vietor.
DeFazio has previously gained attention by quoting the president's private comments. On April 1, 2009, AP reported:
At a meeting with the president Monday night, DeFazio told Obama that he wanted more infrastructure spending. Without prompting, Obama immediately recalled DeFazio’s vote against the president’s economic stimulus bill.
“I know you think we need more for that because you voted against” the stimulus bill in February, Obama told DeFazio during a question-and-answer session with about 150 House Democrats at the Capitol.
“Don’t think we’re not keeping score, brother,” Obama added, as other lawmakers howled with laughter.
