WASHINGTON — The nation ran smack into the budget-slicing sequester yesterday after President Obama and Republicans failed to reach a deal to avoid across-the-board reductions to federal programs.
Thousands of federal workers are expected to be furloughed next month, and the cuts in staff could lead to delays at airports.
Cuts in defense contracts could eventually trigger layoffs.
But there’s at least one sacred cow: ObamaCare.
The administration said the president’s signature health-care expansion would be exempt.
Most Americans won’t feel the impact — at least immediately. After hyping doomsday scenarios for weeks, Obama admitted yesterday that “this is not going to be an apocalypse.”
But he added, “The longer these cuts remain in place, the greater the damage to the economy.”
Mitt Romney, in his first big interview since Election Day, whacked Obama’s handling of the sequester.
“No one can think that that’s been a success for the president. He didn’t think the sequester would happen. It is happening,” Romney said in an interview with the Fox News Channel.