Rep. Joe Barton: BP BFF?

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Who’s sorry now? Rep. Joe Barton, that’s who.

The Texas Republican from Arlington apologized Thursday for apologizing earlier in the day to the chief of the British company that befouled the Gulf of Mexico with a massive oil spill.

His double mea culpa plus a retraction was made under pressure from fuming GOP leaders. It succeeded in shifting attention from the tragedy, BP’s many missteps and the stoic British oil chief at the witness table, to his own party’s close connection to the oil industry.

Barton first apologized to BP CEO Tony Heyward about a $20 billion relief fund for victims of the spill sought by the White House and agreed to by BP. That brought outrage from Republicans, who came close to stripping Barton of his post as chairman-in-waiting of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

More News