The Hill News

One possible Republican presidential candidate put the pressure on House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), a social conservative who's a dark-horse presidential candidate, said the GOP Speaker needed to step forward after President Obama's decision to direct the Justice Department to drop its defense of DOMA from judicial challenges.

Santorum tweeted Friday morning:

Time for Speaker Boehner to defend DOMA htt! p://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/260615/house-intervention-doma-cases-ed-whelan

Obama abandoned defending DOMA, the 1990s law which allows states and the federal government to ignore same-sex marriages and civil unions in other states, in his latest move to expand LGBT rights since taking office.

Attorney General Eric Holder said in his letter to Congress announcing the shift, though, that members of Congress could step forward to defend DOMA in court if they so chose.

Boehner did not condemn Obama's move outright, though his spokesman said earlier this week that the timing was inappropriate for the president to drop its defense of DOMA.

"While Americans want Washington to focus on creating jobs and cutting spending, the President will have to explain why he thinks now is the appropriate time to stir up a controversial issue that sharply divides the nation," spokesman Michael Steel told TalkingPointsMemo.

Social conservatives within the Republican field in 2012 stepped up their criticism of the DOMA decision on Thursday, condemning Obama for paving the way for expanded same-sex marriage rights.

But the pressure on Boehner -- an example of friendly-fire in the GOP -- is the first of its kind from a presidential candidate, and could shape the relationship between the highest-ranking elected Republican in government right now (Boehner) and the Republican presidential field, which th! e Speaker has said is wide open.