As the new Republican controlled Congress continues to get settled, House Speaker John Boehner announced late last week during a press conference that lawmakers will soon be addressing President Obama's executive actions on illegal immigration.
"The House will soon take action aimed at stopping the president’s unilateral action when it comes to immigration," Boehner said.
Republicans plan to pass legislation as soon as this week reversing the executive actions taken by Obama late last year through funding measures. More on the strategy and slim details of how the legislation will be crafted from POLITICO:
The GOP strategy — emerging just one day after Republicans officially took over both chambers of Congress — follows through on the party’s promise last year to strike back at Obama on immigration. Republicans chose to defer that fight to early this year, when the GOP would be in complete power.
Speaker John Boehner and House Republicans are planning to try to choke off money for the executive action next week, with legislation to fund DHS most likely tied to language to limit funding for carrying out Obama’s executive action.
No final strategy decisions have been made, and it’s not clear what language the GOP leadership will ultimately use. But Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) described one possible companion bill on Wednesday: a measure written by Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) that would explicitly bar any funds — even those collected by fees — to be used to carry out Obama’s immigration actions.
It was just over a week ago that Boehner faced criticism and multiple challenges for his speakership, with this issue at the center. Challengers like Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert cited Boehner's decision to fund the President's executive action plans in the most recent budget deal as a reason why he should be replaced.
The 1,603-page omnibus spending bill that Boehner pushed through a lame-duck Republican-controlled House last month put no prohibition on Obama using government funds to implement the amnesty. That omnibus funded almost all the government through the end of this fiscal year on Sept. 30 and the Department of Homeland Security through Feb. 27.
Regardless, President Obama has already issued a veto threat against any type of defunding of executive amnesty through the Homeland Security budget.
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