OUT OF CONTROL: Obama not 'waiting for legislation' to push agenda: “I've got a pen and I've got a phone" ...

AP

(THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER) 

President Obama on Tuesday said he’s “not just going to be waiting for legislation” from Congress to move forward his agenda in 2014, further stoking a clash between both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue over the reach of executive power.

“I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone,” Obama said before a Cabinet meeting at the White House, issuing a challenge to GOP lawmakers who have blocked most of his second-term agenda.

Obama is hailing 2014 as a “year of action” after enduring the roughest 12-month stretch of his presidency.

However, the outlook for his top priorities, including immigration reform and progressive economic fixes, is hazy in the Republican-controlled House.

In alluding to his “pen” and “phone,” Obama made clear that he would not hold back from issuing executive orders and rallying the public behind his agenda.

Obama was also asked about his speech at the Justice Department on Friday in which he’ll outline reforms for the National Security Agency. The president told reporters simply, “It’s getting close.”

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