After Vice President Joe Biden suggested a new openness to same-sex marriage, the administration insists nothing has changed.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Vice President Joe Biden's comment that he is "absolutely comfortable" with same-sex marriage had the White House scrambling on Monday to align the vice president's remarks with President Obama's "evolving" views on the issue.
"Nothing has changed," White House press secretary Jay Carney said. "Policy positions haven't changed."
MORE FROM NATIONAL JOURNAL
- American Hostage Pleads to Obama in al-Qaida Video
- Goolsbee: Obama Faces 'The Fight of His Life'
- Axelrod: Obama Ready for 'Contract Killers in Super PAC Land'
Carney was pelted with questions on the topic at his daily briefing, which grew tense when the press secretary deflected them. Carney denied it when one reporter accused the White House of "trying to have it both ways."
"I have no update on the president's personal views. What the vice president said yesterday was to make the same point that the president has made previously," Carney said -- that committed, loving couples, both gay and straight, deserve to have their rights upheld.
"The vice president--what he said about the protection about rights of citizens--is completely consistent with the president's position on this issue," Carney said. On Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who expressed support for same-sex marriage earlier in the day, Carney said, "Duncan was asked a question about his personal views on the issue, and he offered them."
