Reversing course at last minute, Trump calls on House GOP to pass immigration bill
Reversing course at last minute, Trump calls on House GOP to pass immigration bille27.2018 / 6:34 AM ET
President Donald Trump speaks before awarding the Medal of Honor posthumously to 1st Lt. Garlin Conner during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington on June 26, 2018.Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
WASHINGTON — After saying last week that lawmakers shouldn't bother to vote on an immigration bill, President Donald Trump on Wednesday reversed himself and called on the House GOP to pass a compromise immigration bill that is slated for consideration later in the day.
Some Republican lawmakers had recently expressed concern that Trump had not weighed in on the legislation and said that its prospects for passage were uncertain without clear signs of support of the White House.
On Wednesday morning, Trump weighed in with a tweet in all capital letters to drive home his point.
It's the first time that Trump publicly offered support for the legislation after telling House Republicans behind closed doors last week that he supported their immigration strategy "1000 percent" but not explicitly backing this measure. And then twice last week, the president appeared to sabotage House Republicans' efforts by suggesting that it was a waste of time to even vote on it because Senate Democrats would likely block the legislation anyway. The compromise bill would provide nearly $25 billion in funding for Trump's border wall, limit legal and illegal immigration, provide protection from deportation and a path to citizenship for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and reverse Trump's "zero tolerance" policy, which has resulted in undocumented families being detained in separate facilities.
Trump's public backing of the legislation, however, may be too late. House GOP leaders opted not to include two provisions a day earlier that conservatives had originally requested because they determined it would not alter the final vote tally.
A number of conservatives said Tuesday that they would oppose the compromise bill during the Wednesday floor vote and GOP leaders gave rank and file the impression that they weren’t confident it would pass.
Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Tuesday that if the compromise bill fails, they would likely pursue a narrow bill to address the family separation issue at the border.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...ration-n886916
