Gibbs: Enzi has walked away from bipartisanship

Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) has decided to "walk away" from a bipartisan agreement on healthcare reform legislation, the White House asserted Monday.

Hitting back against the Republican weekly radio address, in which Enzi blasted congressional Democrats' health reform proposals, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs accused Enzi of forsaking bipartisanship.

"It appears that at least in Senator Enzi's case, he doesn't believe there's a pathway to get bipartisan support, and the president thinks that's wrong," Gibbs said during his daily press briefing.

"I think Senator Enzi's clearly turned over his cards on bipartisanship and decided that it's time to walk away from the table," Gibbs added.

Enzi has been a key Republican negotiator on healthcare reform as one of the three GOP members  of the so-called "group of six," the lawmakers in both parties trying to cobble together a healthcare bill with bipartisan support in the Senate.

Gibbs asserted that President Obama remains interested in bipartisanship on healthcare.

"The president is firmly committed to working with Democrats, Republicans, independents, anybody that wants to see progress on health care reform," he said.