|
 While their blood is boiling over his decision to allow nearly 5
million undocumented immigrants to stay and work in the United
States, they remain deeply divided over how to stop it.
In dozens of statements, speeches and interviews, Republicans have
called Obama an "emperor," a "king", a "partisan bomb-thrower" and a
violator of the U.S. Constitution.
But a heated argument is raging among Republicans in Congress over
the best response, with a sizable and vocal group of conservatives
pressing to use a must-pass government spending bill to withhold
funding for implementation of Obama's order easing deportation rules
for millions of undocumented residents.
The move, one of the few options Republicans believe could be
effective, comes at a high price: threatening another government
shutdown that party leaders have vowed to avoid, just over a year
after a 16-day closure inflicted heavy political damage on
Republicans.
 "The only method I know to deal with this, outside of legal
proceedings, is the power of the purse string," said Republican
Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas.
The looming battle will be an early test of Republican congressional
leaders and their ability to keep their sometimes unruly
conservative caucuses in line after big midterm election wins that
will give the party control of the Senate and an expanded House of
Representatives majority beginning in January.
Republican leaders hope to show they are ready to govern, but some
lawmakers will not make it easy. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas already
called for blocking all of Obama's nominations in the next Congress
until the action on immigration is rescinded, while Rep. Steve King
of Iowa has said impeachment is "still on the table."
Other suggestions from Republicans have ranged from filing a lawsuit
to block the executive action to crafting separate immigration
legislation that would override the president's order.
House Speaker John Boehner last week declined to rule out a shutdown
battle and vowed to fight Obama "tooth and nail" over the
immigration order, but has said little this week about the strategy.
[to top of second column] |
Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, said he would defer
to whatever funding plan Boehner settled on.
"We're considering a variety of options," McConnell said on
Thursday. "But make no mistake. When the newly elected
representatives of the people take their seats, they will act."
Hal Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations
Committee, argued on Thursday that a 'de-funding' plan will not work
because the agency primarily responsible for processing immigrants,
the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, is funded almost
entirely by application fees.
Similar arguments made in the run-up to last year's government
shutdown fell largely on deaf ears as House Republicans tried to
starve Obama's healthcare program.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said the
president would face a popular backlash and Republicans should not
short-circuit the public response.
"Impeaching the president or shutting down the government are bad
responses, inappropriate responses to an immature decision by this
president," he told reporters.
(Additional reporting By Amanda Becker and Susan Cornwell; Editing
by John Whitesides and Tomasz Janowski)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
