White House Takes Responsibility for Made-Up GOP Quote Against President

Sen. Durbin took the hit for it

The White House on Thursday said it was behind a miscommunication that caused Senate Democrats to think a Republican lawmaker told President Obama at a private budget meeting, "I can't even stand to look at you."

For a second day in a row, the White House said the incident did not happen, but Thursday it also apologized for the confusion and accepted blame.

"While the quote attributed to a Republican lawmaker in the House GOP meeting with the president is not accurate, there was a miscommunication when the White House read out that meeting to Senate Democrats, and we regret the misunderstanding," a White House official said.