Former GOP communications director Tara Setmayer criticized the lack of work in Congress, saying, “no-one really wants to do the hard work” when it comes to passing an immigration bill.

“This has been very frustrating for the American people, because we know that illegal immigration is a problem. Even the legal immigration system needs to be fixed,” Setmayer told Hill.TV’s “Rising.”

The political commentator said congressional members are too busy trying to hold onto their seats and maintain the status quo rather than creating any meaningful change.

“You have these members of Congress who have constituents that like the status quo – or Republicans on their side, they like the cheap labor,” Setmayer told Hill.TV.

Setmayer wasn’t at all surprised by the bill’s failure. While serving as communications director for the U.S. House of Representatives from 2006 to 2013, she personally saw two separate bills on immigration collapse in Congress.

“When I worked on Capitol Hill, we actually saw two major attempts at this under the Bush Administration during 2007, around there – that went nowhere,” Setmayer said. “And then again, in 2013, the Senate tried to do the Gang of Eight bill. [Sen.] Marco Rubio Marco Antonio RubioOvernight Defense: Pentagon redirects pandemic funding to defense contractors | US planning for full Afghanistan withdrawal by May | Anti-Trump GOP group puts ads in military papers Democrats step up hardball tactics as Supreme Court fight heats up Press: Notorious RBG vs Notorious GOP MORE (R-Fla.) and others were part of that and that went nowhere.”

The House overwhelmingly rejected a Republican compromise bill on immigration Wednesday – only 121 Republicans backed it, compared to 193 for an earlier, more hard-line measure.

The bill would have provided a pathway to citizenship for nearly 800,000 "Dreamers" protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

— Tess Bonn