This blog post erroneously reported that Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) voted to support the final version of the Budget Control Act, which created automatic spending cuts known as sequestration. In fact, while Turner did vote to support a Republican-backed budget measure in July 2011, he voted against the final bill. Media Matters regrets the error. 

Fox News covered up Republican support for defense cuts, letting Republican Congressman Mike Turner (OH) blame President Obama for the cuts, despite the fact that Turner himself voted for them. 

On September 3, Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade interviewed Rep. Turner, who linked across-the-board budget cuts, known as sequestration, to possible military intervention in Syria over its alleged use of chemical weapons against civilians. During the interview, Turner complained that “the president has left sequestration in place.” Turner later commented that Obama “has allowed sequestration to be impacting our men and women who are every day getting up for our national security.”

But Turner, along with more than 200 other Republicans, voted for the 2011 Budget Control Act, which House Republican leadership hailed as a victory. Congress passed the law to incentivize further deficit reduction measures, and when Republicans refused to compromise in considering additional tax revenue and more targeted spending cuts to offset sequestration, the cuts were triggered.

Contrary to Congressman Turner's repeated assertions that the president decided to let the cuts remain, it is Republicans' refusal to pursue alternatives to the cuts that keep them in place.