Hatch blames White House for Netanyahu flap

Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah(Photo: Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)WASHINGTON — Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch accused White House officials of acting "like a bunch of spoiled brats" when they publicly displayed displeasure over this week's address to a joint meeting of Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."I was basically disgusted with the way the White House handled this," Hatch, the Senate's most senior Republican, told Capital Download. "I'll tell you, we're coming to the opinion up here on Capitol Hill, many of us, that they've hired a lot of young people down there (who) don't know what they're doing."The Utah senator was front and center at Tuesday's address, seated beside House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, on the dais behind Netanyahu. As the senator pro tempore, Hatch took the chair typically filled by Vice President Biden, who was traveling in Guatemala.Biden should have made arrangements to attend the speech, Hatch told USA TODAY's weekly video newsmaker series, and President Obama should have met with Netanyahu. Obama declined to do so, citing the closeness of Israeli elections this month. The White House and congressional Democrats also complained that Boehner invited Netanyahu to speak without consulting beforehand with the White House, as is customary."Now, it might have been better protocol to let the president know, but he knew," Hatch said. "All that they had to do was say, 'Well, we're disappointed that we weren't consulted, but we welcome the prime minister and we'd surely like to meet with him while he's here.' They didn't do that."They just acted like a bunch of spoiled brats who didn't know what they were doing. They looked ridiculous in world-wide matters, in foreign policy."The harshness of Hatch's language was notable given his senior position in the Senate — he was interviewed in his ornate ceremonial office on the first floor of the Capitol — and his role as one of the Obama's chief allies on a major issue this year. When the GOP won control of the Senate in November's midterm elections, the president and Republican leaders cited two trade deals now being negotiated as one of the few areas on which major bipartisan progress might be made this year.But Hatch said he was "alarmed" that efforts to pass trade promotion authority have been stalled. The so-called fast-track bill would enable the administration to negotiate a Pacific Rim trade accord and a trade deal with Europe with the assurance that Congress could approve or reject them, but not amend them."Trade promotion authority should be a slam dunk," Hatch said, but some Democrats have demanded a provision that would give Congress a way to revise a deal it found unacceptable. Hatch called on the president to get things moving."If he doesn't get on the ball and help here and tell these few Democrats who probably won't vote for it anyway that we're not going to put up with that, with this type of obstruction, we may not get the free-trade agreements done," he said. "As of right now, it's not looking well."And on the Affordable Care Act, Hatch said he was confident Congress would act to help an estimated 7 million Americans who would lose federal subsidies to buy health insurance if the Supreme Court rules against the administration in King v. Burwell. The senator, whose committee would play a key role in any action, was at the high court Wednesday to hear oral arguments in the case.At issue is whether the law authorizes the subsidies to residents of 37 states that use the federal health care exchange rather than a state exchange. "I think we do have to give financial assistance so that there will be a smooth transition to another way of doing things, and we intend to do that; there's no question about that," Hatch said. "You can't just let people flounder without basic health care."Still, he acknowledged it wasn't clear precisely what sort of assistance would be approved by a Republican-controlled Congress that has adamantly opposed the Affordable Care Act. "It will take a little bit of time to come up with the solutions," he said.Hatch, who worked with Hillary Rodham Clinton when she was his Senate colleague from New York, responded cautiously when asked if she would make a good president. "Well, that's a tough question," he replied, pausing. "Hillary Clinton has enough experience to be president. I like her personally. She a very tough woman. And I think I'll put it this way: She would make a much better president than what we currently have."Is the current furor over her exclusive use of a private e-mail account when she was secretary of State a big deal? "It could be a big deal," he said.VP Biden votes in Delaware, coy about 2016Biden critiques 'decent guy' RyanCandidate Match Game 2Electoral Vote TrackerUSA TODAY/Twitter Election Meter