Sorry baseball fans, the White House says it lacks the authority to make Major League Baseball's Opening Day a national holiday, an effort that was pursued by Anheuser-Busch and supported by the league.
The White House responded Friday evening to a petition by A-B to make Opening Day a holiday a week after a petition backed by the brewer reached 100,000 signatures, the minimum number necessary for the government to respond. In its response, the White House said it's up to Congress to decide federal holidays, and President Barack Obama's administration didn't say it supported A-B's effort.
Since it debuted in 2011, more than 10 million users had signed nearly 300,000 petitions on the White House's "We the People” citizen petition website as of mid-November, according to the White House. Of those petitions, the White House responded to more than 200.
Budweiser, the official beer of Major League Baseball for more than three decades, paired with former Cardinals player and Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith in late February to back a petition to get national recognition for America's pastime. The effort on WhiteHouse.gov needed a minimum of 100,000 signatures by March 26 to garner a response from President Barack Obama's administration.
Friday night, Josh Earnest, the White House's principal deputy press secretary and "lifelong Kansas City Royals fan" according to a statement, said it's up to Congress to establish federal holidays, not the White House.
"While we are sympathetic to your pitch to make Opening Day a national holiday, it's a little outside our strike zone: creating permanent federal holidays is traditionally the purview of Congress," Earnest's statement reads. "So, it's up to the men and women on Capitol Hill to decide whether to swing at this pitch."
MLB's opening day this year is Monday, March 31, although several teams play regular season games before then. The Cardinals will be in Cincinnati playing the Reds March 31, and the Cardinals’ home opener is April 7.
The White House's response included support for the game. "For more than a century, American presidents have celebrated Opening Day — from President William Taft's 1910 first pitch from the stands, to President Obama toeing the rubber at Nationals Park in 2010," the statement reads. "Opening Day signals a new beginning, not only for the 30 Major League Baseball teams playing for their shot at a title, but for the millions of fans who will follow the 162-game journey — from 'Play ball!' through the last out. That includes President Obama, who will be rooting for his White Sox to go all the way."
