The White House is defending Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz as she faces an open revolt over her handling of the presidential debate schedule.
“Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been a great leader and the president is grateful for her service, not just for the people of Florida, but for her work leading the Democratic Party,” spokesman Eric Schultz, no relation, said in an email.
{mosads}Tensions spilled into the open last week when Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), a DNC vice chairwoman, claimed she was uninvited to last Tuesday’s presidential primary debate after she publicly called on the party to hold more than the six scheduled debates. Wasserman Schultz denied that Gabbard was told not to attend the Las Vegas debate.
Another vice chair, R.T. Rybak, accused the chairwoman of cutting her deputies out of the process of crafting the debate schedule. In an interview with The New York Times, Rybak said he has “serious questions” about Wasserman Schultz’s ability to lead the party through the 2016 elections.
Amid the controversy, DNC on Wednesday endorsed an additional candidate forum organized by the liberal group MoveOn.org.
Schultz did directly weigh in on the debate controversy, but praised the chairwoman as “a strong partner in electing Democrats across the country and making sure the party is well positioned to succeed next fall.”
He added that Obama “is proud of the work being done by the entire team at the DNC. He fully recognizes the value of their efforts, and that’s why he has worked so hard to support them.”
The White House’s show of unity with Wasserman Schultz comes ahead of Obama’s appearance at the DNC’s Women’s Leadership Forum in Washington on Friday.
Wasserman Schultz will speak at the forum in the morning, but will have left by the time the president arrives in the afternoon. She is scheduled to travel to Tennessee to attend a fundraiser for the state’s Democratic Party, according to a DNC official.
Obama and Wasserman Schultz have reportedly had a tense relationship during her tenure as party chairwoman, dating all the way back to the president’s 2012 reelection campaign.
White House aides, speaking anonymously, in the past have criticized Wasserman Schultz’s combative style on cable TV and questioned whether she was putting her personal ambitions ahead of her party’s priorities.
Obama, however, decided to keep Wasserman Schultz on board at the DNC after he won a second term.