House Republicans repudiate Obamas immigration actions
Speaker of the House John Boehner urged passage of a bill to condemn President Obama's action on immigration during a news conference on Thursday. (AP)
House Republicans voted to rebuke President Obama for his unilateral overhaul of the nations immigration system Thursday, passing legislation to curb the White Houses ability to protect millions from being deported.
But the effort was largely symbolic: The Democratic-controlled Senate plans to ignore the bill, and the White House has said it would veto it.
Still, the political consequence of the bill that passed by a 219-to-197 vote (three Republicans voted present) is the bolstered standing of House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), leaving him well-positioned to pass an omnibus spending bill next week that would fund the government beyond Dec. 11, when current funds will expire. Some of the most conservative GOP members wanted to tie the immigration defunding measure to the larger government spending bill.
But Boehners ease so far in persuading his unruly conference to forgo a politically risky showdown underscores a new pragmatic streak in his ranks since the GOPs big gains in the midterm elections.
Rather than governing by crisis as they have in recent years, House Republicans seem eager to move past the tumultuous lame-duck session and look ahead to January, when they will take control of both congressional chambers. They hope to pass bills on tax issues, energy policy and their own versions of immigration reform.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) defended President Obama's plan for immigration and urged members of Congress to vote on legislative reforms during a news conference on Thursday. (AP)
Weve learned some hard lessons since the government shutdown last year, said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), a Boehner ally. People are swallowing things that are difficult to swallow on all sides of the conference.
Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.), a firebrand who voted against Boehner in the speaker election two years ago, authored the legislation that passed the House on Thursday. It was included as part of the GOPs response in order to signal to hard-liners that Boehner was listening to their pleas to repudiate the president. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), a new member of the leadership team trusted by many conservatives, orchestrated its consideration and passage.
We think this is the most practical way to fight the presidents action, Boehner said at a Thursday news conference. Frankly, we listened to our members, and we listened to some members who were frankly griping the most. This was their idea of how to proceed.
Originally posted here:
House Republicans repudiate Obamas immigration actions