WASHINGTON -- Georgia's House Republicans are not thrilled with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's plans to separate Department of Homeland Security funding from a strike at President Barack Obama's actions on immigration.
Emerging from a House GOP meeting, in which Speaker John Boehner told his caucus he hadn't spoken to McConnell in two weeks, Georgia's Republicans were not ready to go along. Said Rep. Jody Hice, R-Monroe:
"I thought we voted in November to no longer have Harry Reid leading the Senate. And it appears that has not taken place yet, in my mind. It is time for Republicans to lead and deal with the issue of the unconstitutional power grab by the president."
When asked if he could support a "clean" DHS spending bill, without immigration conditions, Hice replied: "No, the clean bill is unconstitutional."
Rep. Rob Woodall, R-Lawrenceville, said Boehner has done the right thing by waiting to see what the Senate can pass before offering up anything from the House. Boehner repeatedly told reporters this morning that he was simply waiting on the Senate to act.
Said Woodall:
"As ugly and unpleasant as it may be, even for our Republican friends, we've got to let the Senate work this thing out."
As for his opinion of a clean DHS bill, Woodall said:
"That's not something I'm enthusiastic about having them pass and send back over here, and so I would vote to amend it when it gets back over here, and I would be enthusiastic about sending something back to them."
Time for legislative ping-pong is running short ahead of Friday's deadline to fund the department. In the event of a partial shutdown TSA and border patrol agents, as well as other essential personnel, would stay on the job without pay. And the finger pointing about protecting the homeland would only escalate.
One option would be to pass a short-term bill that keeps DHS going for a few weeks or months, as the federal court case on Obama's immigration actions plays out. His move to remove the threat of deportation from as many as 5 million people here illegally has been blocked -- for now -- by a Texas judge.
Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, who has a major DHS facility in his district, said a short-term funding bill is an option under discussion, but he has not decided whether he would support it:
"And for two reasons: First of all, I oppose amnesty. We do not reward bad behavior in this nation. I'm opposed to it. And secondly, because of the overreach of the executive branch. We've got to stop that. If we don't stop it, it will continue. Congress won't even be significant at all."
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