Ryan tells Republicans not to sign DACA petition
By Tal Kopan, CNN
House Speaker Paul Ryan in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday sought to discourage fellow Republicans from signing a measure that would force an immigration vote, members leaving the meeting said.
The pitch from Ryan to his party colleagues came as he faces an uprising from moderate GOP members who say time is running out for him to come up with a solution on immigration, adding they are tired of waiting for action.
Rep. Bill Flores paraphrased the speaker as telling Republicans to “quit messing around with the discharge petition” and that it’s “not a path to success.”
“He just said a discharge petition is not a path to success if you really want to do something on immigration,” Flores told reporters.
Other members and Flores said Ryan told his colleagues that he met with President Donald Trump the day before and that leadership and the White House were working on a plan that could ultimately pass both chambers of Congress and get the President’s signature. But he did not offer specifics, the lawmakers added.
A group of moderate Republicans are backing a plan to bypass GOP leaders by forcing a floor vote on four competing bills to preserve the Obama-era DACA program, which protected young undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children. Trump has decided to end the program, though it’s currently tied up in the courts.
The move, called a discharge petition, currently has 18 Republican supporters. If 25 GOP members and all House Democrats sign the petition, it would force the vote.
Ryan in his weekly news conference similarly did not offer specifics on the plan, saying his team is “working on it.”
More here: https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/16/politics/paul-ryan-house-daca/index.html
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With DACA, “It ain’t over till the Fat Lady sings.” Thanks, Tal, for keeping us up to date!
PWS
05-16-18