House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) warned that now is the wrong time to consider repealing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy just days after President Obama signaled in his State of the Union address that his administration would push forward with changing it.
"At a time when Americans are asking 'where are the jobs,' why do we want to get in this debate?" Boehner told NBC's David Gregory on an appearance on "Meet the Press" on Sunday.
The Ohio Republican added: "In the middle of two wars and in the middle of this giant security threat, why would we want to get into this debate?"
Boehner predicted that any action on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" would lead to a "divisive debate" and "do nothing more than distract the real debate that should occur here about helping to get our economy going again and getting American people back to work."
In his State of the Union address last week, Obama pledged to begin the process of ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
"This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are," he said. "It's the right thing to do."