House Republicans have already backed Senate Republicans into a corner with their drastic anti-immigrant bill. The problem is, that bill was supposed to fund the Department of Homeland Security. But Senate Republicans can't find a Democrat to touch it in order to reach the 60 votes necessary to advance it.
The predicament is already the main topic of conversation as GOP House and Senate lawmakers gather in Hershey, PA, to streamline their legislative goals. Here's Burgess Everett:
As they try to coordinate with the House in Hershey at the joint retreat, Senate Republicans are resolute that they will put the legislation on the floor, even if only to prove that it can’t pass the Senate’s 60-vote threshold. But given that the Senate may take up to two more weeks to work on amending the Keystone XL pipeline, congressional leaders will probably need to begin working on a back-up plan as soon as possible to hit the Feb. 27 deadline for DHS funding.
GOP Rep. Jeff Denham of California, a vocal critic of the anti-immigrant amendments to the DHS bill, expressed optimism that Republicans would eventually pass a bill to fund DHS by the Feb. deadline. But no one knows how.
He said he’d ultimately vote for a “clean” bill that simply funds the department without immigration riders — but it’s unclear how many Republicans feel the same way, and what tack leadership will have to take to get 218 votes in the House and a supermajority in the Senate to avoid blowing the deadline.
“We will pass a DHS bill, it will be passed on time, we will not shut down this part of the government,” Denham said.
Timing is of the essence because Senate Republicans are working diligently on a bill to approve the Keystone XL pipeline that has already drawn a veto threat from the president. Good thinking.
Whatever Senate Republicans come up with on DHS funding, they will need six Democrats to help them get it across the line. Not a single Democrat should be willing to vote on anything but a clean funding bill for DHS, and they should be saying so publicly.