GOP Rallies Around Symbolic Vote to Stop Obama Immigration Plan
Rep. Yoho’s bill condemns Obama’s executive order, avoids government shutdown
— -- Call it the Republican venting plan.
The House is set to vote Thursday on legislation to effectively undo President Obama’s executive action on immigration. It’s a proposal put forward by Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Florida, which allows Republicans to voice their outrage, without sparking a government shutdown.
“That’s the beauty of this bill,” Yoho told ABC News. “There’s no threat of a government shutdown.”
The measure allows Republicans to cast a vote of disapproval on the president’s executive action, but to move ahead with a short-term spending bill to keep the government open when it runs out of money next week.
Speaker John Boehner said most of his fellow Republicans accepted the political reality that their hands are tied – for now, at least – in how they respond to the president’s unilateral action on immigration.
Two years ago, Yoho was one of the conservative Republicans who voted against Speaker Boehner. Now, Republican leaders selected his plan to help pacify conservatives by giving them a way to express their anger at the White House.
It’s largely symbolic, considering the Senate is controlled by Democrats until next month. But Yoho dismissed that characterization, saying the burden is on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to bring the bill to the floor after it passes the House.
“Our bill would stop the president’s amnesty,” Yoho said, “and put the brakes on it until the next Congress can get sworn in.”