House Speaker John Boehner said Sunday that he's willing to let funding run out for the Department of Homeland Security in order to advance the GOP's efforts to reverse President Obama's executive immigration actions.
"Senate Democrats are the ones standing in the way. They're the ones jeopardizing funding," Boehner told Fox's Chris Wallace, reported Reuters. Boehner added that Democrats will be at fault if a deal isn't reached.
When asked if he would allow DHS funding to lapse, Boehner, R-Ohio, said, "Certainly. The House has acted. We've done our job."
The $40 billion measure would fund the department until the end of the current budget year but was blocked three times by Senate Democrats last week because it includes language that would limit Obama's immigration action. Republicans say they won't support a bill without such language. The House has already approved the measure.
"The House has acted to fund the department and to stop the president's overreach when it comes to immigration and his executive orders," Boehner continued, according to Politico. "The president said 22 times that he did not have the authority to do what he eventually did. And the Congress just can't sit by and let the president defy the Constitution and defy his own oath of office. And so the House acted. Now it's time for the Senate to act."
But the Senate has tried to act on the measure a few times already, only to meet resistance from Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said last week that the Senate is "stuck," and that it's now time for the House to act, The Hill reported.
"It's clear we can't get on the bill. We can't offer amendments to the bill. And I think it would be pretty safe to say we're stuck because of Democratic obstruction on the Senate side. I think it's clear we can't go forward in the Senate, unless you've all heard something I haven't," McConnell said.
Even if the measure passes both chambers, Obama has promised to veto any bill that would be detrimental to his immigration actions.
Lawmakers started a 10-day hiatus on Friday, and upon return, will only have four days to pass a measure to avoid DHS shutting down after Feb. 27.
