It’s been 34 days since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank in the waters of the Gulf of
Mexico. The Obama administration and national press corps are refocusing
their attention on the federal response this week with a series of
visits, statements and actions. Here are highlights from this past
weekend and the week ahead:
• President Obama will participate in the daily call to Gulf State governors on Monday, and Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen
is scheduled to join White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs
today at the daily press briefing. As Katie Couric and
Diane Sawyer both plan to take their national
newscasts to the region tonight, it’s clear the White House will
continue to push back hard against suggestions it’s not responding well
enough.
• Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will lead a
bipartisan Congressional delegation to Louisiana on Monday. They’ll be
joined by Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.) and Sens. Dick
Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Lisa
Murkowski (R-Alaska), Sheldon Whitehouse
(D-R.I.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and David
Vitter (R-La.).
• Salazar said Sunday that the U.S. government will move aside BP from the operation if it decides
the company is not performing as required. “I am angry and I am
frustrated that BP has been unable to stop this oil from leaking and to
stop the pollution from spreading,” Salazar told reporters after
visiting BP’s offices in Houston.
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