White House responds to Warren’s marriage remarks

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said President Obama “appreciates” the views of Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren on marriage equality, but that he had no updates on the president’s own position on the issue.

“The president appreciates Elizabeth Warren’s advice and service that she provided on these very critical issues that you talked about,” Carney said in response to questions from the Washington Blade on Friday. “And he gets advice from people he respects on a variety of issues and he listens very carefully to that advice on those varieties of issues, and then he makes his decisions when he’s ready to make them, and talks about them when he’s got news to talk about.”

Warren, who is running to unseat Sen. Scott Brown in Massachusetts, told the Blade in an exclusive interview earlier this week that she would like to see Obama endorse marriage equality. She also said she supports a move to include a marriage equality plank in the Democratic Party’s platform. Obama has said he is “evolving” on marriage but hasn’t endorsed marriage equality yet.

The transcript of the exchange between the Blade and Carney follows:

BLADE: Jay, earlier this week, Elizabeth Warren told me she wants to see the President complete his evolution on same-sex marriage –

CARNEY:  I saw that story on you, Chris.

BLADE: It was pretty cool, wasn’t it?

MR. CARNEY:  You’re a star.  (Laughter.)

BLADE: Anyway, Elizabeth Warren said that marriage equality is morally right.  Will the president take her advice before the November election?

MR. CARNEY:  Chris, I have no updates for you on that issue.

BLADE: As chair of the congressional panel overseeing TARP funds, Ms. Warren oversaw the distribution of hundreds of billions of dollars to banks on the verge of collapse, and she also served as special assistant to the president on the establishment of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. So if the president is going to take her advice on these very complex issues, why wouldn’t he do so on this very simple issue of marriage?

CARNEY: Well, the president appreciates Elizabeth Warren’s advice and service that she provided on these very critical issues that you talked about. And he gets advice from people he respects on a variety of issues and he listens very carefully to that advice on those varieties of issues, and then he makes his decisions when he’s ready to make them, and talks about them when he’s got news to talk about.