Politics

Santorum pressures Boehner to support DOMA, same-sex marriage

Laura Donovan Contributor
Font Size:

Former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum said House Speaker John Boehner should fight back against President Barack Obama’s Wednesday decision to order the Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act.

“Time for Speaker Boehner to defend DOMA,” Santorum tweeted, linking to an article on the National Review by Ed Whelan that argues that the House can and should intervene to defend DOMA and suggests that a “major whack” to Attorney General Eric Holder’s salary “may also be in order.”

Holder sent a letter to Boehner on Wednesday that reads, “[T]he President and I have concluded…Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional.” The Department will not defend DOMA “unless and until Congress repeals Section 3 or the judicial branch renders a definitive verdict against the law’s constitutionality.”

According to The Hill, Boehner’s spokesperson said earlier this week that Obama would have to answer to the American people about his policy priorities at this time of economic distress.

“While Americans want Washington to focus on creating jobs and cutting spending the president will have to explain why he thinks now is the appropriate time to stir up a controversial issue that sharply divides the nation,” said Boehner’s spokesman Michael Steel.