White House Standing Firm Against Sequester Repeal

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters Tuesday that President Obama meant it when he said last night that he would veto any effort by lawmakers to undo a series of automatic spending cuts set to take effect in 2013.

The cuts, or “sequestrations,” were triggered yesterday when the congressional ‘super committee’ failed to pass a plan to reduce the nation’s deficit by roughly $1.3 trillion over the next decade. Obama responded to the committee’s collapse by warning Congress that “there will be no easy off-ramps on this one.”

Already, some lawmakers have stated their intention to prevent the cuts from taking shape. Speaking to reporters traveling to New Hampshire today aboard Air Force One, Carney said that there is “no wiggle room” in the president’s position on the automatic cuts.

The cuts would target U.S. non-defense and defense budgets equally.