The big news in Congress today on earmarks came from Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, who stunned colleagues by changing course on a ban on home state earmarks. McConnell had been working against the idea of a ban on earmarks, which was supported by many Tea Party Republicans.

That move drew a statement from President Obama as well, provided by the White House:

Statement of the President on Earmark Reform

I welcome Senator McConnell's decision to join me and members of both parties who support cracking down on wasteful earmark spending, which we can't afford during these tough economic times.   As a Senator, I helped eliminate anonymous earmarks, and as President, I've called for new limitations on earmarks and set new, higher standards of transparency and accountability. But we can't stop with earmarks as they represent only part of the problem.  In the days and weeks to come, I look forward to working with Democrats and Republicans to not only end earmark spending, but to find other ways to bring down our deficits for our children.