DeMint: White House 'trying to divide us'

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said Wednesday that President Barack Obama's administration is "trying to divide" Senate Republicans by selectively calling a few of them to lobby them on legislative issues.

DeMint, a one-time friend of Obama's when the president was a senator, said White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has been seeking out GOP senators to press them on healthcare reform and other topics.

"Right now their whole strategy just seems like they want to divide us," DeMint said. "The president has had his people calling different Republicans. It's not a matter of going to [Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell and saying, 'Let's work together.' They're trying to just pick off a few Republicans."

DeMint made his comments hours before Obama was to deliver his State of the Union address, in which he will lay out his agenda moving forward.

The South Carolina Republican specifically mentioned White House outreach to Republicans on healthcare reform legislation, arguably Obama's signature issue during his first year in the Oval Office.

"On healthcare and other things, too, Rahm Emanuel has been calling different Republicans, and we really want them to work with us, which is going to require going through our leadership and coming up with some ideas so we can move ahead," DeMint said.

"They seem to just want these huge, FDR-like comprehensive bills, and the country wants us to slow down and go step by step," he added.

Jordan Fabian contributed to this report.