WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama moved aggressively to show his government is in charge of the Gulf oil spill on Thursday, calling the spill an “unprecedented disaster” and blasting a “scandalously close relationship” between oil companies and regulators.

“The American people should know that from the moment this disaster began, the federal government has been in charge of the response effort,” Obama told a news conference. He was responding to criticism that his administration had been slow to act and had left BP in charge of plugging the leak.

Obama said many critics failed to realize “this has been our highest priority.”

He conceded that “people are going to be frustrated until it stops.”

Obama announced a series of new steps to deal with the aftermath of the spill, including continuing a moratorium on drilling permits for six months.

He also said he was suspending planned exploration drilling off the coasts of Alaska and Virginia and on 33 wells currently being drilled in the Gulf of Mexico.

The president, speaking to reporters in the East Room of the White House, spoke as oil giant BP pumped mudlike heavy drilling oil into the well in hopes of stopping the flow.

He said while the “top kill” procedure was an example of his administration’s willingness to try “any reasonable strategy” to stop the gusher, the process “offers no guarantee of success.”

Over and over, the president sought to counter criticism that the administration was giving too much leeway to BP.

“Make no mistake, BP is operating at our direction,” he said.

Olympic Training Center weightlifter Patrick Judge will compete Sunday with OTC teammate Sarah Robles at the Pan American Championships in Guatemala City, trying to help the Americans increase an eighth-place standing in the Pan American region. The event serves as the final qualifier for the 2011 Pan American Games. Photo by COURTESY OF TEAM FLORIDA GULF COAST WEIGHTLIFTING