Earlier this morning, President Obama said he would not “stand by” on his planned executive action on immigration. The president’s remarks come following a warning from Speaker of the House John Boehner and a request from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asking the president to delay any executive action for the sake of budget negotiations.
“I indicated to Speaker Boehner several months ago that if in fact Congress failed to act, I would use all the lawful authority that I possess to try to make the system work better,” Obama told reporters at a press conference in Burma. “That’s going to happen. That’s going to happen before the end of the year.”
But Boehner said on Friday that “all options are on the table.” The Hill is reporting that Boehner was “explicitly refusing to rule out a government shutdown over the issue.”
However, Obama will not be deterred. Addressing the claim that unilateral action by the president could “poison the well,” Obama remarked: “The one thing that I think is going to be important for us to have a successful partnership over the next couple of years is not making differences on one issue a deal breaker on every issue.”
Meanwhile, House Republicans are considering banning any funding for future executive actions.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member