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LePage Says He's Withdrawing Executive Branch from Education Group

PORTLAND, Maine - Gov. Paul LePage has responded to yesterday's complaints that he held an illegal, private meeting with a blue-ribbon commission on education.

LePage, appearing on WVOM Radio in Bangor this morning, told hosts Ric Tyler and George Hale that "they made a big s--- show out of it and, as of yesterday afternoon, I have withdrawn the executive branch from that group."

LePage complained that he's tired of "living under the press" and says he thought it would be better if the commission could do its work without the criticism LePage said he gets "whenever I do anything."

He says the administration will supply the commission with any data it needs.

LePage also said he won't apologize for commenting on hard-to-understand workers from Bulgaria or India.
He told WVOM that his comment at the state party convention was "meant as a joke'' but he acknowledged that "maybe it was a bad joke.''

LePage was chuckling Saturday when he talked about foreign workers after criticizing a referendum proposal to raise Maine's minimum wage to $12. LePage supports raising the wage by a lesser amount.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.