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Washington House Republicans vented their anger at President Obama Wednesday by denying him the funds he needs to carry out his executive immigration action.

But will that be the epitaph for immigration reform during the Obama years?

To hardliners like Rep. Steve King (R) of Iowa, yes. But some more moderate Republicans still see a glimmer of hope for moving forward on immigration reform not as a single, comprehensive bill but on smaller pieces that could get bipartisan support.

The template for that would be Decembers vote to fund most of the federal government through September, says Rep. Tom Cole (R) of Oklahoma. The bill passed with the support of roughly two-thirds of Republicans and one-third of Democrats, sidelining dozens of hard-line conservatives.

"That's the only formula thats really going to work in this situation," said Representative Cole, a close ally of the speaker, in an interview with the Monitor. Ditto for any other major reforms that Congress might tackle in the next two years, he adds.

It might not work. An attempt by House Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio to move immigration reform forward last year never even got past the discussion stage. But the situation might be different this time. Not only can House Republicans count on the GOP-controlled Senate as an ally, but Republicans' need to woo Hispanic voters ahead of the 2016 presidential elections could shift the political calculus.

"John Boehner has made no secret of the fact that he wants us to attack this problem," Cole says, but first, "you've got to let him play out his hand."

That meant moving forward with the effort Wednesday by House Republicans to block funding for Mr. Obama's executive action, which was attached to a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. It now moves to the GOP-controlled Senate but it is highly unlikely to survive a Democratic filibuster there. The White House also has threatened a veto.

The Houses move "is primarily a reaction to the president, whom we think is overreaching, and were going to have this fight," Cole says.

But his eye is already on areas of potential agreement among some Republicans, Democrats, and the White House, such as better border security, more high-tech visas, as well as a seasonal program for agricultural workers, which especially affects Republican districts.

Read more:
House GOP blocks Obama immigration plan, but there's an asterisk