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 Elizabeth Lauten, communications director for Republican
Representative Stephen Fincher of Tennessee, had said via a Facebook
post that Obama's daughters, Malia, 16, and Sasha, 13, needed to
show "a little class," complaining they appeared to look
uninterested last week during an appearance with their father at a
White House pre-Thanksgiving ceremony at which he had "pardoned" a
turkey.
Her post unleashed a backlash on social media, prompting Lauten to
later apologize on Facebook for her comments.
"I was taken aback that there was a political operative on Capitol
Hill who did use the occasion of the Thanksgiving-themed event to
criticize members of the presidential family," White House spokesman
Josh Earnest told reporters on Monday.
Earnest said that Lauten's subsequent apology was "an appropriate
thing for her to do."
Children of presidents have generally been off limits for criticism
in Washington.
"Act like being in the White House matters to you," Lauten said in
the Facebook post last week.
She also took a shot at the president and his wife, saying the Obama
girls did not have good role models.
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On Monday, Lauten told NBC News that her resignation from Fincher's
staff was "in the works."
No one in Fincher's office was available to confirm Lauten's plans.
(Writing by Bill Trott; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Eric Walsh)
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