House Republicans involved with immigration policy are working through possibilities. GOP weighs bill to block Obama on immigration The rhetoric heats up as yet another immigration debate surfaces.

House Republicans have begun to talk about how to stop President Barack Obama from issuing an executive order changing the enforcement of immigration laws, according to multiple GOP sources.

Several options are being considered, including a standalone bill to strip or restrict funding from agencies that deal with immigration. The staffs of Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and other lawmakers involved with immigration policy are working through possibilities.


No decisions have been made, as discussions have just started. And some in the top rung of the party aren’t certain the House has the ability to stop the Obama administration from using this authority.

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Just a few days into the lame-duck session, the rhetoric is getting hotter, and the brief session of legislating has morphed into yet another immigration debate.

In a Thursday morning meeting, Boehner told House Republicans that he warned Obama not to issue an executive order, or else his agenda would be completely stymied on Capitol Hill. And in a news conference in the afternoon, Boehner said Congress would go as far as ignoring requests from the administration if Obama “goes down this path.”

“Well, you know, every administration needs this and needs that and needs all kinds of things, and you know, if he wants to go off on his own, there are things he’s just not going to get,” Boehner said, after winning his party’s nomination for another term as speaker.

“Our goal here is to stop the president from violating his own oath of office and violating the constitution. It’s not to shut down the government.”

But here’s the rub: GOP leadership has not yet coalesced around any mechanism to stop Obama. And even Boehner seemed unsure he could stop him.

“We’ll find out,” he said.

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Most importantly, House GOP leadership is very worried about their ability to fund the government if Obama issues an executive action. There is internal debate about whether Congress should fund the government for just a few months instead of nearly a full year as a mechanism to keep a tight leash on the administration. A short-term funding bill sets up another fight in 2015, and it would slow the Republican agenda on Capitol Hill. House Republican leadership doesn’t yet have a good read on the mood of the conference.

“Our goal here is to stop the president from violating his own oath of office and violating the constitution,” Boehner said, when asked about using the government funding bill to stop Obama. “It’s not to shut down the government.”

In the closed meeting Thursday morning, Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) urged leadership to pass a short-term funding bill, so a Republican Congress can fund the government in 2015. But Reps. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Tom Graves (R-Ga.) said the party should pass a funding bill that lasts through September — the end of the fiscal year.

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Boehner said Republicans would fight the administration “tooth and nail.”

“This is the wrong way to govern,” Boehner said. “This is exactly what the American people said on Election Day they didn’t want and so all the options are on the table, we’re having discussions with our members and there’s no decision been made as to how we will fight this.”