In a move directed more toward “owning the libs” than crafting law, Republican leaders in the House plan to hold a vote on a Democratic measure to get rid of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
First reported by The Hill on Thursday, GOP leaders reason that forcing Democrats to cast a vote one way or another on the issue could put them in a tight spot between catering to the party’s progressives and moderate voters. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise pushed for the vote during a Thursday meeting, arguing it would be helpful in election messaging.
“I think everyone ought to be on record about where they stand on that issue,” Scalise told The Hill. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy has confirmed he is looking at holding the vote before the August recess.
But the plan could easily backfire, as Democrats have said they aren’t going to play along with the stunt. It also represents a dramatic reversal of the Republican leadership’s long-held stance that only immigration bills that are supported by the president should be allowed to come up for a vote.
On Friday, a number of Republicans who have in recent months pushed for legislative proposals to address immigration reform were peeved that Republican leaders are dedicating floor time to a Democratic bill that they have no intention of passing.
“Using it as a particular messaging bill without the chances of anything becoming law is questionable,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows told THE WEEKLY STANDARD on his way to votes. “There are a number of bills we should be considering. Abolishing ICE is not on the top 20 of my priority list,” he later added.
One House Republican aide pushed back on the argument that Republican leaders were being hypocritical by scheduling a vote for the bill. “IF we were to vote on this, the purpose would be to defeat it and put Democrats on record. There’s no chance this passes,” she said. “We’ve held votes before to show the House does not support something.”
The bill was introduced this week by Democratic members Mark Pocan, Pramila Jayapal, and Adriano Espaillat. Rank-and-file Democrats have been skeptical of the progressive effort. Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus voted against supporting Pocan’s bill, with chair Michelle Lujan Grisham arguing that “simply terminating ICE fails to address President Trump’s underlying cruel immigration policies and priorities that target families and children.”
Sponsors of the bill said Thursday that they would vote against the legislation if Republican leaders move forward with their plan. But they say they’ll gladly make use of the chance to debate immigration policies.
“We’ll be glad to capture floor time to talk about family separation, to talk about ICE, to talk about DACA, all the stuff that they haven’t given us floor time on,” Pocan told Politico.
