House Speaker John Boehner said Sunday he is prepared to let the Department of Homeland Security shut down in just under two weeks, because the Democrats would be to blame.
“The House has acted. We’ve done our job. Senate Democrats are the ones putting us in this precarious position,” Mr. Boehner said on “Fox News Sunday.”
The House has passed a bill that would fund the Homeland Security Department but would strip money from the president’s executive order on immigration. The Senate, however, has failed to overcome several Democrat-led filibusters and doesn’t appear able to pass a funding bill.
Facing a Feb. 27 deadline for funding the Department of Homeland Security, the House and Senate have left Washington for a week-long break for Presidents Day.
Mr. Boehner said the House will not approve another bill that would be able to pass the Senate, stressing that the responsibility is on senators to devise a new plan if they are unable to move the House-approved bill.
“If the Senate doesn’t like it, they’ll have to produce something that fits their institution,” said Mr. Boehner, Ohio Republican.
The speaker said it’s imperative to rein in what many Republicans believe was an executive overreach when Mr. Obama last year issued an executive order that granted deportation amnesty to certain illegal immigrants.
“The Congress just can’t sit by and watch the president defy the Constitution,” he said. “So the House acted; now it’s time for the Senate to act.”
• Jacqueline Klimas can be reached at jklimas@washingtontimes.com.
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