Two more Republicans signed on to a measure that would force an immigration vote in the House just hours after Speaker Paul Ryan urged his colleagues not to do so in a closed-door meeting yesterday.
The signatures of New York Rep. John Katko and Michigan Rep. David Trott brought the total to 20 Republicans supporting the move, five short of the number needed to force a vote if all Democrats sign on as well.
The momentum of the petition, paired with threats from conservatives to cause problems if the effort continues to move, prompted House leadership to summon both key moderate and conservative members to meet in Ryan’s offices. But the issue remained far from resolved.
The pitch from Ryan to his party colleagues at a meeting that morning as well as the evening, as recounted by multiple lawmakers leaving the meeting, 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. Texas Rep. Bill Flores paraphrased the speaker as telling Republicans in the morning to “quit messing around with the discharge petition” and that it’s “not a path to success.”
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 DACA protections for DREAMers. Trump has decided to end the program, but it is currently tied up in the courts.
Members present at the meeting said Ryan told his colleagues that he met with President 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. Despite this, moderates are still pursuing the discharge petition and conservatives are still threatening an unrelated farm bill to push for their preferred immigration bill
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