WASHINGTON (AP) – After a weeks-long political struggle, legislation to fund the Homeland Security Department is headed back to the House without restrictions conservatives demanded on President Barack Obama’s immigration policies. Even so, it stands a good chance of passage.
Speaker John Boehner and other House GOP leaders declined Monday night to say what their next move would be in a controversy that has exposed deep divisions inside the party’s ranks. But even Republican officials conceded the leadership was running out of options apart from a capitulation to Obama and the Democrats.
House Democrats were eager for a vote on the measure.
“The world is far too dangerous for House Republicans to show so little regard for the security of American families. Republicans should join with Democrats to keep the American people safe, protect our homeland, and bring a clean, long-term DHS funding bill to a vote immediately,” said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California.
She issued her statement after Senate Democrats had blocked a Republican move to convene formal negotiations between the two houses. Because the GOP holds a majority in both, the result would inevitably have been a bill that included funds for the agency as well as steps to roll back presidential directives that have shielded millions of immigrants from deportation.