John Boehner Won't Comment On Obama's Order Protecting Gay Workers

House Speaker John Boehner was irked last week when asked to weigh in on an executive order which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating against workers on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

President Barack Obama signed the order on Monday, citing the need to act after broader legislation has languished in Congress for over 4 decades.

(Related: Obama on banning gay discrimination: We're on the right side of history.)

While Christian conservatives have condemned the order – mostly framing it as an attack on Christians – Republicans have mostly kept quiet.

When asked Thursday by the HuffPost if he had any reaction to the president's order, Boehner answered: “Nope.”

“The president signs a lot of executive orders,” he said during his weekly briefing.

When asked in a follow up whether he supports such protections, Boehner answered: “Listen, the president is going to make his decisions. He can.”

Fred Sainz of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, called the GOP's silence “evidence of our progress.”