WASHINGTON - US Republicans on Monday criticized President Barack Obama's re-election announcement, as his potential opponents jumped at the opportunity.

The Republican National Committee redesigned its website, launching a "Hope Isn't Hiring" campaign, asking for contributions to defeat Obama in the 2012 election.

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Hordes of Republican politicians went on TV to pan the re- election announcement. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas told CNN that he is not happy about Obama's announcement for re-election bid, asking "where are your priorities?"

Rep. Paul Ryan, a rising star within the Republican rank, said on Fox News that he found it "kind of ironic that the week we're trying to engage the president, the Democrats and the country with an honest debate about our budget, with real solutions to fix this country's problems and prevent a debt crisis, the president is launching his re-election campaign."

Republicans and the White House have been unable to come to an agreement on funding for the government. The Congress sent Obama a short term funding measure on March 17, keeping the government running until April 8, and officials have been working to prevent a government shutdown later this week.

Although criticized by Republicans, the GOP has a relatively weak candidate pool against Obama. The ill-timing of Obama's re- election bid gave them a perfect opportunity. Mitt Romney wrote on the microblogging site Twitter that he looks forward to hearing details on Obama's jobs plan, "as are 14m unemployed Americans."

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, another potential GOP candidate, released a 35-second video showing images of houses in foreclosure, high gas prices, people in line for work and out-of- business signs, asking "how can America win the future when we're losing the present?"