Tennessee’s U.S. House delegation voted unanimously against House Speaker Paul’s Ryan’s immigration bill Wednesday, including both Democrat members, with Rep. Diane Black not voting. The bill went down in defeat by a wide margin, 121-301, despite President Trump’s subdued support.
A sprawling, compromise GOP immigration bill that would have provided a path to citizenship for young illegal immigrants while directing $25 billion for the construction of President Trump’s border wall failed in the House on Wednesday, despite encouragement from the president for Republicans to support it.
The bill was overwhelmingly rejected 301-121, in part because some Republicans are reluctant to vote for any bill they worry could be portrayed as “amnesty.”
More than 100 Republicans voted against the legislation.
The legislation was given little chance of passing going in.
Trump’s tweet Wednesday captured his earlier private views that he supports the bill as well as his previous tweets that Republicans were wasting their time on legislation that can’t pass the Senate, putting a different spin on the latter.
“HOUSE REPUBLICANS SHOULD PASS THE STRONG BUT FAIR IMMIGRATION BILL, KNOWN AS GOODLATTE II, IN THEIR AFTERNOON VOTE TODAY, EVEN THOUGH THE DEMS WON’T LET IT PASS IN THE SENATE,” he tweeted in all caps. “PASSAGE WILL SHOW THAT WE WANT STRONG BORDERS & SECURITY WHILE THE DEMS WANT OPEN BORDERS = CRIME. WIN!”
The compromise bill was negotiated by members representing all sides of the various factions in the GOP Conference and Republican leaders in recent weeks. But some of the negotiators had maintained concerns throughout the process.
Ultimately, the legislation was only officially authored by House Judiciary Chairman Robert W. Goodlatte, Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul and moderate GOP Reps. Jeff Denham of California and Carlos Curbelo of Florida.
Many conservatives who voted against the compromise bill had supported another GOP measure the House had rejected last week, 193-231.
Republicans have referred to that bill, which was also authored by Goodlatte and McCaul, as “Goodlatte 1” and the compromise measure as “Goodlatte 2.”
