Aide: Obama won’t ‘sit and wait’ for Congress

White House chief of staff Denis McDonough on Tuesday said the administration would not “sit and wait” for Congress. 

While detailing an increase in the minimum wage for federal contractors during an interview on “CBS This Morning,” McDonough reiterated the administration would continue to use executive action to advance President Obama’s agenda, rather than wait for Congress, which is “sometimes a little slow to action.” 

{mosads}“Rather than sit and wait for Congress to take action, we’re going to go ahead and roll out on our own using the president’s authorities,” he said. “We’ll look to work with Congress where we can, but I think, as we’ve seen over the last several years now, Congress sometimes is a little slow to action.”

The White House announced Tuesday ahead of Obama’s State of the Union address, the president would use an executive order to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour for federal contract workers. 

The action is part of a broader push by the administration to advance the agenda using executive orders and outside advocacy.

“We think $10.10 an hour is the way to go,” he said. “Nobody who works full time and works hard at their job should live in poverty. We think $10.10 an hour will allow them to do that.”