VIDEO: Clyburn says ’emotional’ clawback bill likely dead; House may try ‘cooler’ approach

The bill passed by the House last week to heavily tax bonuses at AIG is unlikely to make its way into law, the body’s third-ranking member acknowledged Monday.

When asked if the bill passed by the House is likely to make its way to the president’s desk in its current form, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) said: “No, I don’t think so.”

Clyburn defended what he described as an “emotional” response to constituents’ anger over the AIG bonuses during last week’s vote.

“We voted to tax this, knowing full well that it could end up in court, and could be considered unconstitutional,” Clyburn explained on CNBC this morning. “We are a political body…and sometimes we respond to their emotions, and that’s how it should be.”

“I think that the president, you may recall, he had sensitivity to what we were doing,” the majority whip said of President Obama’s role in the AIG outrage. “Even at that time, he seemed to express some pause as to where it would go from there.”

Clyburn also indicated that the House may take another look at how to handle the bonuses with a “cooler” perspective this week.

“Emotions get very hot sometimes in our legislative process, and we do need time to have a cooling off period,” Clyburn said. “I think we will have a much cooler look this week.”

Watch a video of the interview below: