Obama Visits Newport News To Talk Sequestration

President Obama highlighted the impact of pending budget cuts on the state's defense industry at Newport News, Va., on Tuesday.

Most Virginia Republicans are glad the president is highlighting the state's robust defense industry, but Virginia Congressman Randy Forbes says the president's time would have been better spent in Washington negotiating with congressional leaders.

"The President instead has surrounded himself with these campaign stops where he puts people who already agree with him around to cheer and clap everything he says, but if you want to reach true compromise the best way to do that is to go into a room with people who might disagree with you," Rep. Forbes said.

Virginia Democrats are defending the president's trip. Sen. Tim Kaine says its good the White House is calling attention to the potentially devastating impact of the pending budget cuts, called sequestration. 

"I think part of the reason the president is going is to just make sure that we're not just talking about numbers on a page here. We're talking about real consequences.," said Kaine.

On Capitol Hill, everyone is bracing for sequestration to strike on Friday, but the two sides still don't appear to be moving any closer to a deal, which means hundreds of thousands of workers in the region could be furloughed.