Ted Cruz won’t be satisfied by any spending legislation this month that doesn’t zero out funding for President Barack Obama’s immigration policies. On Wednesday morning, the Texas GOP senator joined conservative colleagues in the House and Senate who began railing on Tuesday against House Speaker John Boehner’s plans to pass an omnibus spending through September, revisit Homeland Security funding early next year and pass a proposal disapproving of Obama’s immigration policy — which the Democrat-controlled Senate will not take up.
In a statement, the potential presidential contender again urged the Senate to block consideration of Obama’s nominees to positions not related to national security — and Cruz demanded both chambers to take a harder line against Obama than proposed by GOP leaders.
“Both Houses should use the power of the purse, which the framers understood to be the most potent tool Congress has to rein in an out-of-control executive,” Cruz said in a statement. “We should pass a short-term continuing resolution that includes language defunding the implementation of the president’s executive action on amnesty.”
Cruz huddled with House conservatives on Wednesday morning concerning Congress’s lame-duck agenda and will appear with immigration hardliners Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and Steve King (R-Iowa) during an afternoon press conference. It remains unclear just how hard a line Cruz will take on the spending bill and immigration this month after playing a central role during last year’s fight over defunding Obamacare, which resulted in a lengthy government shutdown.
On Wednesday, Cruz’s office also delivered a list of quotes from Senate Democrats’ expressing opposition to Obama’s action to shield millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation, urging House Republicans to force those Democrats to take a position on funding “Obama’s unilateral amnesty.”
“Support for the president’s lawlessness decreases by the day, and House Republicans should provide Senate Democrats the opportunity to show voters whether or not they have heard the message the voters sent in the 2014 elections,” Cruz said.
(Politico)
