Despite saying last month that House lawmakers need to address some form of immigration reform, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) told reporters Wednesday that taking up a Senate-passed bill that includes a path to citizenship was a non-starter.

“We have no intention of ever going to conference on the Senate bill,” Boehner said at a weekly briefing in Washington.

Instead, the speaker voiced his preference for a “step-by-step,” “common sense” solution to address the nation’s broken immigration system.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the majority whip, said last week that a vote on immigration reform by the end of the year was not in the cards — dimming its prospects ahead of a busy winter schedule and the election season next year.