WASHINGTON (AP) – Hillary Rodham Clinton offered praise for President Barack Obama’s executive actions to stave off deportation for millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. But the Democrats’ favored presidential hopeful has been less forthcoming on other issues in these early days of the 2016 contest.
Clinton is not, so far, a candidate, and she’s limiting her commentary about the daily news cycle confronting Obama – a strategy that could keep down chatter about where she and the unpopular president agree and where they diverge.
The former secretary of state, senator and first lady is not talking about the Keystone XL pipeline, rejected by one vote in the final weeks of the Democrat-led Senate. She has yet to speak publicly about a sweeping climate change agreement between the U.S. and China, an extension of talks over Iran’s nuclear program or the Senate’s move to block a bill to end bulk collection of Americans’ phone records by the National Security Agency.
When Obama announced his moves to prevent the deportations for nearly 5 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, Clinton quickly embraced the decision on Twitter. The president, she wrote, was “taking action on immigration in the face of inaction” in Congress. In doing so, she signaled that as a candidate, she would run against the Republican-led House and Senate that convenes next year. Clinton also drew a distinction from her would-be GOP opponents who have spoken of immigration reform in large part as a border security problem.
On other weighty policy matters, however, Clinton is mum.