The Obama administration is facing renewed criticism over its refusal to push for a “public option” under healthcare reform. President Obama omitted the public option from a healthcare proposal unveiled ahead of tomorrow’s bipartisan healthcare summit. On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said “there isn’t enough political support” to pass a public option through Congress.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs: “I think that we have seen obviously, and I talked about this some yesterday, that though there are some that are supportive of this, there isn’t enough political support in a majority to get this through. The President wanted to find — took the Senate bill as the base and looks forward to discussing consensus ideas on Thursday.”

Twenty-three Democratic senators have publicly signed on to supporting a public option, and the White House has been criticized for not attempting to secure the fifty votes needed for simple-majority approval through budget reconciliation.