President Obama on January 25th, his fifth day in office, received strong signals from leading Republican politicians and intellectuals that they would oppose his stimulus package as it is currently written.
House Minority Leader John Boehner and Senator John McCain voiced their opposition to the current stimulus plan on the Sunday morning talk shows.
Think Progress compiled a video of prominent conservative intellectuals Bill Kristol and Charles Krauthammer slamming the bailout as well. Watch the video below.
The other big news that emerged from Obama's fifth day in office was his intention to reverse a Bush environmental policy that barred California from setting its own fuel-efficiency standards:
The attention to energy comes as Obama heads into his first full week as president, with an agenda dominated by economic woes and a push to get a huge stimulus plan through Congress.
In one key move, Obama is aiming to let California and other states set their own tailpipe emission standards _ without having to get a waiver from the Environmental Protection Administration, as has been the case. The policy change would furnish another alternative for reducing greenhouse gases, principally carbon dioxide, which contribute to global warming. It also would reverse a Bush era policy that put up legal obstacles to California's go-it-alone stance.
And in another policy change, Obama is likely to order the Transportation Department to enact short-term rules on how automakers can improve the fuel efficiency of their new models.
Read about Obama's first day in office.
Read about Obama's second day in office.
Read about Obama's third day in office.
Read about Obama's fourth day in office.