This morning Trump said on Fox and Friends that out of the two immigration bills coming up for a vote next week, he wouldn’t vote for the more ‘moderate’ one, which is a compromise bill of the Goodlatte bill, the other immigration bill.
The more moderate compromise bill was only in draft form as of yesterday, but apparently it’s already been scheduled for a vote next Thursday as well.
Breitbart is claiming an exclusive report that House Majority Whip Steven Scalise is not onboard with the Ryan compromise bill for one reason only – Trump doesn’t support it. If Trump changes his mind, according to the report, Scalise will support it.
But as it stands now, there appears to be a division in the leadership ranks over the immigration bills.
Here’s more from Breitbart:
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise opposes House Speaker Paul Ryan’s amnesty plan, his office confirmed to Breitbart News on Friday. Scalise joins President Donald Trump in opposing the Ryan amnesty plan, which is scheduled at this time for a vote next Thursday in the House.
“Scalise did not, in fact, whip the compromise legislation today, and he does not intend to whip any immigration bill unless it has the support of President Trump,” Scalise spokeswoman Lauren Fine told Breitbart News. “He will not support immigration legislation that the president opposes.”
Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s office continues to decline to answer whether he will stand with President Trump or with lame duck Paul Ryan’s amnesty plan. But now, it is clear the House GOP leadership team is divided, as Ryan is the only member of the leadership team on record in favor of this amnesty plan the speaker put forward, all as President Trump came out in strong opposition to it on Friday morning.
Trump, on Fox and Friends, said that he “certainly wouldn’t sign” the lame duck Ryan’s amnesty bill if it ever made it to his desk.
Scalise’s opposition to the Ryan bill, his office confirmed, is predicated on the fact that President Trump opposes it. If that somehow changes, Scalise’s position could change. But, Scalise himself told Breitbart News he stands with the president.
“As we draft legislation to fix our broken immigration system, I’m working with President Trump on a bill that secures the border, fully funds the wall, closes loopholes on enforcement, and solves the DACA problem in a way that restores the rule of law,” Scalise told Breitbart News.
In other words, the Ryan bill does not do those things, President Trump opposes it, and Scalise stands with Trump against Ryan and the speaker’s amnesty plan.
There was some talk by White House officials that Trump was confused this morning and that he supports both the Goodlatte and leadership bills. But that has been refuted by other White House officials who say he knew exactly what he was doing this morning.
Here’s that video if you want to judge for yourself (it’s cued up):