WASHINGTON (AP) – An Obama administration official and a leading congressional critic disagreed Wednesday on whether there should be firings in the wake of the near-tragic Christmas Day bombing attempt aboard a U.S.-bound airplane.
Denis McDonough, the National Security Council’s chief of staff, said in a nationally broadcast interview that “everybody around the table accepted responsibility” at a tense White House meeting Tuesday afternoon with President Barack Obama.
“Now the president has said time and again throughout this process that there will be accountability at all levels but we’re not going to prejudge the final review here and jump to any conclusions,” McDonough said, when asked if any individual or individuals would lose their jobs.
Rep. Peter King of New York, one of the administration’s harshest critics on terrorism, said, “If the situation is as bad as the president says it was …someone will have to go.”
Full story: Obama critic urges firings in airliner close call.