King troubled by Obama plan to bypass Congress

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) explained Monday he’s troubled by the White House’s 2014 plan to circumvent Congress to enact measures unilaterally.

“Let’s be careful here that we don’t create a situation and a momentum, where Congress is sort of an afterthought,” King said on MSNBC’s “Jansing & Co.” 

Senior aides to President Obama, including White House spokesman Jay Carney and senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer, have been saying this month that Obama might bypass Congress this year to get things done.

“We need to assure the American people that we can get something done, either through Congress or on our own because what they want are answers,” Pfeiffer said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

{mosads}”He is going to look in every way he can with his pen and his phone to try to move the ball forward,” Pfeiffer added. “We’re putting an extra emphasis on it in 2014.”

King, who was elected in 2012 and caucuses with the Democrats, suggested they might make more progress, if the Obama administration reaches out to Congress more.

“There are plenty of areas where we can work together. A little more outreach from the White House I think would be good.”

Obama should be careful to not overstep his constitutional powers, King warned.

“I would much prefer working with Congress and understanding of the math of this place,” he said. “Once power accretes to the president, it very rarely, if ever, goes away.”

King added he’s confident Congress will pass a farm bill and said there’s a “reasonable shot” for immigration reform in the House.