Snafu: The White House Word of the Week

— -- Have you heard about the “procedural snafu” in Washington?

Because the White House press corps has -- a lot.

Press Secretary Josh Earnest today used the term 11 times to refer to the move by Senate Democrats to block trade promotion authority for the president. This comes after he used the phrase 10 times at Tuesday’s briefing to explain the stalled trade bill.

The overuse of “snafu” was funny at first.

“Remind me, what does snafu stand for?” ABC News' Jonathan Karl jokingly asked Earnest on Tuesday.

“This is a family program, Jon,” the normally earnest Earnest responded.

Today, the “snafu” became, well, a bit SNAFU.

“I don't know how a snafu translates into a variety of Asian languages,” Earnest confessed, when asked if the White House had been receiving calls from other nations concerned about the trade flap.

The quip was met with groans from White House reporters, but that didn’t stop Earnest.

He went on to explain that there is still strong support for the bill, bemoaning “this is why less patient observers of the Senate are ready to pull their hair out when they observe these kinds of procedural snafus.”

The press corps is beginning to share that sentiment, when it comes to the term “snafu.”