CBS Host Scott Pelley Asks John Boehner ‘Do You Practice That Scowl?'

Following President Obama’s State of the Union address on January 20, Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sat down with Scott Pelley, CBS Evening News anchor, for an exclusive interview that aired on Sunday’s 60 Minutes. 

Throughout the interview, the CBS anchor peppered his GOP guests with several liberal questions and even questioned Speaker Boehner’s facial expressions during the State of the Union. Pelley asked the Speaker: “It must be a hell of a thing to sit behind the president knowing that 30 million Americans are watching you for an hour. Do you practice that scowl?” 

The interview began with Scott Pelley touting the supposed economic success that has occurred under President Obama and urged his guests to give the president credit:

Unemployment has fallen to 5.6 percent, gasoline prices are down, the stock markets are up. The economy grew by five percent in the third quarter. That’s the fastest rate in more than a decade. You don’t congratulate the president for that?

The CBS Evening News anchor proceeded to ask his guests “is income inequality a problem in this country? Is it a problem that Republicans want to address?” For his part, Boehner pushed back at Pelley’s line of questioning and insisted that “the president’s policies have made income inequality worse.” 

Pelley then brought up the issue of funding the Highway Trust Fund and went so far as to pushed his GOP guests to “raise the gas tax. Hasn’t been raised in decades.” Boehner shot back and pointed out how “when the Democrats controlled the House, the Senate, and the White House, they couldn’t increase the gas tax. We believe that through tax reform, a couple of other options that are being looked at, we can find the funds to fund a long-term, highway bill. It’s critically important to the country.”  

After discussing the foreign policy differences between the White House and the GOP-controlled Congress, the CBS anchor brought up President Obama’s unilateral action on immigration reform, and even scolded the Republicans for trying to pass legislation that would override Obama's actions: 

We also wondered about the president’s decision to by-pass Congress with his own immigration reform. The president has temporarily protected about 5 million illegal immigrants in this country from deportation. The House just passed a bill to block that. And I wonder, Mr. Leader, are you gonna pass a similar bill in the Senate? He’s gonna veto that bill if it reaches his desk. Is that governing, just sending bills up to the White House that are gonna get vetoed?

Rather than accept Pelley's premise that sending bills to the White House that will be vetoed isn't governing, McConnell pointed out that "the reason was the Senate never sent him anything that caused him any discomfort. In our system it’s, it’s gonna happen occasionally. Presidents veto bills there are differences of opinion between Congress and presidents that’s not unheard of in our system." 

As the interview wrapped up, Pelley did his best to play up the disagreements within the Republican Party and made sure to ask Speaker Boehner “can you bring the Tea Party in line? There are Tea Party groups that hold fundraisers under the heading of, "Let’s fire the Speaker." They don’t think you’re very conservative.” 
 
Rather than ask Boehner how he has reached out to all parts conservative movement in order to unite them, Pelley concluded interview by hyping how some "conservative groups, [are] raising money, beating the dickens out of you” and wondered “how many Republican parties are there?”

See relevant transcript below. 

CBS’ 60 Minutes 

January 25, 2015

SCOTT PELLEY: For the first time, the president faces a House and Senate controlled by the Republican Party. Two men will decide which part of President Obama’s agenda becomes law. They are the Speaker of the House, John Boehner of Ohio, and the new Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. This past week we sat down with them at the Capitol for their first joint interview since the big Republican gains in the midterm election. They had just heard the president lay out his vision.

BARACK OBAMA: I have no more campaigns to run. My only agenda... (applause) I know because I won both of ‘em.]

PELLEY: What was your impression of the president’s State of the Union speech?

MITCH MCCONNELL: My first thought it was it sounded like he was running for a third term. He seemed to have-- completely forgotten or chose to ignore-- the election last November. He was looking out at an audience that had 80 more Republicans in it than his first State of the Union.

PELLEY: Mr. Speaker, I think your reaction to the State of the Union was written all over your face. It must be a hell of a thing to sit behind the president knowing that 30 million Americans are watching you for an hour. Do you practice that scowl?

JOHN BOEHNER: No. I stare at the back of the president’s head. And my goal is to make no news. This is the president’s night and so I sit there and try to make no news. Although, inside, I’ve got a lotta things rollin’ through my mind.

OBAMA: Our deficit’s cut by two thirds. A stock market that has doubled and health care inflation at its lowest rate in 50 years. This is good news people.

PELLEY: Unemployment has fallen to 5.6 percent, gasoline prices are down, the stock markets are up. The economy grew by five percent in the third quarter. That’s the fastest rate in more than a decade. You don’t congratulate the president for that?

MCCONNELL: Look, things are getting better. But the point is who is benefiting from this? This has been a top of the income recovery-- the so-called one percent that the president’s always talking about have done quite well. But middle and lower income Americans are about $3,000 a year worse off than they were when he came to office.

PELLEY: Is income inequality a problem in this country? Is it a problem that Republicans want to address?

BOEHNER: It is. And frankly the president’s policies have made income inequality worse. All the regulations that are coming out of Washington make it more difficult for employers to hire more people, chief amongst those, I would argue is Obamacare-- which basically puts a penalty or a tax on employers for every new job they create.

PELLEY: From the president’s State of the Union address let me ask you, dead or alive, raise taxes on the wealthy?

BOEHNER: Why would he want to raise taxes on people?

PELLEY: I’ll take that as a dead.

BOEHNER: Dead, real dead.

PELLEY: Make community college free of charge, dead or alive?

MCCONNELL: We added more debt during the Obama years than all the presidents from George Washington down to George Bush. And giving away free tuition strikes me as something we can’t afford.

PELLEY: I’ll put that down as dead as well. Increasing the federal minimum wage?

BOEHNER: Bad idea.

PELLEY: Dead?

MCCONNELL: We added more debt during the Obama years than all the presidents from George Washington down to George Bush. And giving away free tuition strikes me as something we can’t afford.

BOEHNER: It’s a bad idea. I’ve had every kinda rotten job you can imagine growin’ up and gettin’ myself through school. And-- and I wouldn’t have had a chance at half those jobs if the federal government had kept imposing higher minimum wage. You take the bottom rungs off the economic ladder.

PELLEY: Finally, dead or alive, tripling the childcare tax credit for working families?

BOEHNER: We’re all for helping working class families around America. I think we’ll take a look at this when he sends his budget up, something that could be looked at in the overall context of simplifying our tax code and bringing rates down for everyone.

MCCONNELL: I would just add trade. Virtually every Republican in the audience the other night stood up and applauded when the president talked about trade.

PELLEY: Speaking to folks at the White House the other day, they told us that one of the areas they thought there was a chance for progress is on infrastructure in this country; roads and bridges. What do you think?

BOEHNER: We agree. You know, the biggest problem I have is that the Highway Trust Fund, which is funded by gasoline taxes, continues to shrink as cars get more and better mileage standards. And so the money that’s in the Highway Trust Fund isn’t sufficient to meet the infrastructure needs of the country.

PELLEY: You can fix that. You can raise the gas tax. Hasn’t been raised in decades.

BOEHNER: Well, listen. When the Democrats controlled the House, the Senate, and the White House, they couldn’t increase the gas tax. We believe that through tax reform, a couple of other options that are being looked at, we can find the funds to fund a long-term, highway bill. It’s critically important to the country. 

--

[OBAMA: Today our immigration system is broken.]

PELLEY: We also wondered about the president’s decision to by-pass Congress with his own immigration reform. The president has temporarily protected about 5 million illegal immigrants in this country from deportation. The House just passed a bill to block that. And I wonder, Mr. Leader, are you gonna pass a similar bill in the Senate?

MCCONNELL: Well, you know, the president said on 22 different occasions that he didn’t have the authority to do what he did. Of course the 22 occasions occurred before last November’s election. Since the election’s outta the way, he did exactly what he said he didn’t have the authority to do. So we will try to pass the House bill when it comes over to us. And I think it’ll be vigorously supported by the vast majority of my members.

PELLEY: He’s gonna veto that bill if it reaches his desk. Is that governing, just sending bills up to the White House that are gonna get vetoed?

MCCONNELL: Look, can I say something about vetoes? The president’s vetoed two bills in six years. Two little bills over technicalities. The reason was the Senate never sent him anything that caused him any discomfort. In our system it’s, it’s gonna happen occasionally. Presidents veto bills there are differences of opinion between Congress and presidents that’s not unheard of in our system.

PELLEY: President Obama’s job approval rating is 46 percent. It’s pretty poor. But the job approval rating for the Congress is 15 percent. What do you say to the 85 percent of the American people who think you’re doing a lousy job?

MCCONNELL: I would say they’re right. Hey, I wouldn’t vote to approve this Congress. And from a Senate perspective, I can-- I can tell you the Senate has been essentially dysfunctional for four years. I mean, it’s basically been shut down. And these guys on the House side have passed lots and lots of legislation, it would come over to the Senate, and literally nothing would happen. I mean, absolutely, nothing.

BOEHNER: Over the last few years, we sent 400 bills over to the Senate that never received action. Almost all of ‘em passed on a bipartisan basis. Never got considered.

PELLEY: That’s because, as you would expect, the previous Democratic Senate leadership used tactics to hamstring bills from the Republican House. Now with both chambers in Republican hands McConnell says, more bills are going to get a vote. Critics have often said, and this stings the president, that he should do more to reach out to Republicans. Invite them over to the White House, have ‘em over for dinner, play golf with ‘em; that sort of thing. But many people don’t realize that Republicans turn down those invitations because they tell the White House they can’t be seen with the president. How is anything going to happen in the city of Washington if the two parties can’t be seen together?

BOEHNER: Listen, the president and I talk and I know Mitch talks to the president. And we had a meeting at the White House last week. It was all very cordial. It was all very straightforward. I don’t think, I don’t think that’s the issue. You know, the president could have, with the State of the Union, just put out an olive branch, could’ve taken just a little bit different tone that would’ve indicated to us that there’s some interest in working with us. I can tell ya, we’re interested in working with him.

PELLEY: Mr. Speaker, can you bring the Tea Party in line? There are Tea Party groups that hold fundraisers under the heading of, "Let’s fire the Speaker." They don’t think you’re very conservative.

BOEHNER: Well my voting record is as conservative as anybody here. The issue with the Tea Party isn’t one of strategy. It’s not one of different vision. It’s-- it’s a disagreement over tactics, from time to time. Frankly, a lot is being driven by national groups here in Washington who have raised money and just beating the dickens out of me.

PELLEY: Conservative groups, raising money, beating the dickens out of you.

BOEHNER: Beating the dickens out of me...Well you know, because it works. They raise money, put it in their pocket, and pay themselves big salaries.

PELLEY: How many Republican parties are there?

BOEHNER: Well, there’s one. And we continue to work to bring those members along, and they bring ‘em along. And, uh...but it’s always a work in progress.

PELLEY: The president often says that he can’t be the leader of just one party; that he has to be the president for all of the United States. And I wonder whether either of you lay claim to that same responsibility of uniting the country, rather than dividing it?

BOEHNER: I don’t wanna divide the country. We try to do everything we can up here to help unite the country. But having this debate is the American way.

MCCONNELL: We’re not divided on our love for, and support for the country. We have very different views, as Adams and Jefferson did, about what America ought to be like. And we resolve that through the democratic process. And so I would not view with alarm the fact that there are robust debates going on in Congress over the future of this country.