WASHINGTON, June 27 -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday slammed Republicansfor a forthcoming lawsuit against him over alleged abuse of executive power, saying thatsuch actions were only necessary because the GOP has been unwilling to compromise oneven the most basic issues.
"Now Republicans are mad at me for taking these actions. They' re not doing anything, andnow they're mad that I'm doing something," Obama said in Minneapolis, U.S. State ofMinnesota, where he is for a two-day visit.
"If you're mad at me for helping people on my own, then why don 't you join me and we'lldo it together," he they added.
The president has pledged to use his "pen and phone" to bypass Congressional gridlockwith executive actions.
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner announced on Wednesday thathe was planning to sue President Barack Obama for misusing executive powers, a movethe White House dismissed as one that would not have the support of most Americans.Boehner said the president "has not faithfully executed the laws."
"The constitution makes it clear that a president's job is to faithfully execute the laws,"Boehner said. "In my view, the president has not faithfully executed the laws."
"This is not about impeachment," the Ohio Republican added. " This is about his faithfullyexecuting the laws of our country."
After Boehner's announcement, White House spokesman Josh Earnest accused the HouseRepublicans of blocking progress in Congress "for a long time," insisting Obama's actions onhis own were within his authority as president.
