For the second day in a row, President Obama and administration officials failed to commit to repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell in the lame duck session of the Senate, which many advocates believe is the best chance for lifting the ban this year. Before the election, Obama had told AmericaBlog’s Joe Sudbay and other progressive bloggers that he had a strategy and would be personally involved in ending the ban once the Senate reconvenes later this month. During his press conference yesterday, Obama only said that the Senate would “potentially” take up the measure.

This morning, Obama didn’t mention the policy at all. Speaking to reporters following his cabinet meeting, the President announced that he would invite Congressional leaders to the White House discuss “what we need to get done during the lame duck session” and only identified extending the Bush tax cuts for middle class Americans “a whole range of other economic issues,” and foreign policy concerns like ratifying the START treaty, as priorities. This afternoon, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs had another opportunity to address the pressure the Senate to take-up the DADT policy, but he too refused:

QUESTION: You mentioned this morning, and the President mentioned this morning that taxes will be one of the major priorities during the lame-duck session. What other priorities would you list in the next couple of months?

GIBBS: The president listed this, and I think this is very important that is, ratifying the new reductions in our nuclear arsenal with Russia by approving the START treaty. [...]

I think there are some other pieces of legislation that are close that we didn’t finish at the end, things like child nutrition, which is obviously a huge priority for the First Lady and there’s no doubt we want to get our budget director confirmed. Our fiscal situation is something that this administration, the fiscal commission, and Congress will spend a lot of time on. It makes sense to have a budget director in order to do that.

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LGBT advocates are still calling on Reid to bring the National Defense Authorization Act — in which the DADT repeal amendment is housed — to the floor as soon as the Senate reconvenes later this month.

Yesterday, Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), the incoming Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said Republicans would not include “social agenda items” in future defense authorization measures. This is despite the fact that the 1993 ban was originally attached to just such a defense authorization bill.

Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), the incoming Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee isn’t taking any advice from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who yesterday suggested that Republicans “ease up a little bit” on social issues like Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and “accomplish it now.” In a statement released yesterday, McKeon said, “Republicans on both sides of the Capitol aisle are committed to passing a National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 that is not weighed down by the current majority’s social agenda items,” a reference to the DADT compromise amendment offered by Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA).

In a separate interview with Reuters, McKeon spoke out directly against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell:

REUTERS: President Obama said in his news conference he may push for a repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, ‘Don’t Tell’ during the lame duck session of Congress. What are your feelings on this?

MCKEON: I think that’s unwise. You know, we had a process in place. We have a study that has been undertaken. People have been hired, they have done a lot of interviews. I have not seen the study yet. It was supposed to come back in December. Now, I really would like to see that before any effort is made to push this thing through. I think that something as disruptive as that could potentially be in the military, and figuring all of these people that have lost their elections that would be making that kind of a decision, I just think that’s not a wise (move)… Because I think the only reason they’re trying to do it is political. And I don’t think the military should be used as a political football.”

Indeed, if Democrats don’t pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — in which an amendment to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is housed — in this lame duck session, they won’t have another opportunity to use that legislation as a vehicle for repeal in the new Congress.

During a conference call yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said he would try to move the bill once the Senate comes back to session later this month. “The problem we have with a defense authorization bill is that it takes a while to get it done,” he said. “If we could get some agreement from the Republicans that we could move the bill without a lot of extraneous amendments, I think it is something we can work out. Time agreements on a few amendments, that would be my goal.”