King: Obama not at ease on security

The Hill
By Michael O'Brien
February 11, 2010

King, the top GOP member of the House Homeland Security Committee, suggested that the president was out of touch on security issues and had deferred too much to his attorney general on decisions on how to handle and whether to criminally prosecute terror suspects.

"I think the president's lost control of this issue. He seems really vague and just not with it when discussing these issues," King said during an appearance on the Don Imus radio program. "He doesn't seem that comfortable when he's discussing this issue."

King joins the chorus of House and Senate Republicans pouncing on the administration's handling of the attempted Christmas Day bombing, and, like those other lawmakers, called for the resignation of John Brennan, a deputy national security adviser and special assistant to the president on homeland security.

But King also saved tough words for the attorney general, saying the president has given him too much authority on national security issues.

"This administration is really confused when it comes to the whole terrorist issue," King said. "I think the president has made a big mistake; he defers too much to Eric Holder, the attorney general."

"I think it's important for the country to know that it's the president in charge of these policies, not Eric Holder," the New York congressman added.