New York Times
By Ashley Parker and Emmarie Heutteman
February 25, 2015
Republicans
on Wednesday publicly struggled to resolve tensions within their party
as House and Senate leaders searched for a way to avert a partial
shutdown of the Department
of Homeland Security, which is set to run out of money on Friday.
The
effort to keep the department running has emerged as a proxy fight over
President Obama’s immigration policies — as well as the first major
test for congressional
Republicans over whether they can actually govern, now that they
control both chambers.
But
it has also become a test of how House and Senate Republicans can
reconcile their own considerable differences on major policy fights.
The
House speaker, John A. Boehner, told his conference at a closed-door
meeting Wednesday morning that he and Senator Mitch McConnell of
Kentucky, the majority leader,
had not spoken in two weeks, something several lawmakers said they
found surprising.
The
battle to finance the department — with the Senate calling on the House
to act, and the House saying it is still waiting on the Senate — is
perilous for the Republican
Party.
One
day after the Republicans retook the Senate majority, Mr. McConnell
said there would be no more government shutdowns, yet he now faces that
prospect. And for Mr. Boehner,
the funding impasse raises the question of whether he has the political
muscle to corral his restive conference — including its most
conservative members — into passing a spending measure without a
reprisal against his leadership.
On
Tuesday, Mr. McConnell offered what he hoped was a way out of the fight
— one vote on a bill solely to fund the agency, and another vote on
legislation to halt Mr.
Obama’s executive actions on immigration.
Senator
Harry Reid of Nevada, the minority leader, countered by saying that
Senate Democrats would not allow a vote on any spending bill until they
have a guarantee from
Mr. Boehner that his conference also accepts the proposal. And on
Wednesday, Mr. Boehner and House Republicans emerged from their private
meeting saying they had no plans to act until the Senate actually sent
them a bill.
“I
don’t know what the Senate’s capable of passing, and until I see what
they’re going to pass, no decisions have been made on the House side,”
Mr. Boehner said. “The
House has done its job to fund the Department of Homeland Security and
to stop the president’s overreach on immigration, and we’re waiting for
the Senate to do their job.”
Representative
Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California and the majority leader, told
his members to keep their schedules “flexible,” and to expect a lot of
late nights
and early mornings, as well as maybe a weekend session. Another option
emerging Wednesday was a short-term funding measure, either for a few
months, or for at least a few days until lawmakers figure out a plan
forward.
But
it remains unclear just how far House Republicans — who are eager to
tie any funding bill to legislation to rein in what they say is the
president’s executive overreach
on immigration — are willing to go in their delicate stance between
fighting Mr. Obama’s immigration policies and providing money for a
vital security agency.
“There
wasn’t really a clear message of where we’re going,” said
Representative Raúl Labrador, Republican of Idaho. “I know that most of
us over here feel that you have
to have the defunding of the president’s actions attached.”
If
Mr. Boehner and his leadership team do ultimately try to pass a “clean”
funding bill that has no immigration-related amendments, probably with
the support of Democratic
members, they could face criticism from their more hard-line members,
as well as outside conservative groups.
“Our
base would be extremely angry,” said Representative John Fleming,
Republican of Louisiana. “So this is very, very delicate territory for
our leadership.”
Though
discussions are continuing on the Senate side, Democrats seemed
increasingly inclined to accept Mr. McConnell’s offer of a vote on a
bill to fund the agency, with
no immigration provisions attached.
But
on Wednesday, Mr. Boehner gave no clear indication of what his
conference would be able to pass. “Senate Democrats have stood in the
way now for three weeks over a
bill that should have been debated and passed,” he said. “So until the
Senate does something, we’re in a wait-and-see mode.”
Republicans
have long blamed Democrats for the impasse, pointing out that Senate
Democrats have four times filibustered an effort to even open debate on a
funding bill.
But with time ticking down until a partial shutdown, some Republican
lawmakers also signaled that it was time to accept a compromise.
“We
can’t allow D.H.S. not be funded,” said Representative Peter T. King,
Republican of New York. “People think we’re crazy. There’re terrorist
attacks all over the world,
and we’re talking about closing down Homeland Security. This is like
living in the world of the crazy people.”
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