Posted on 11/20/2014 3:21:14 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) accused the White House of deliberately scheduling President Obama's announcement on his immigration executive action after lawmakers left town.
In a speech to an empty House chamber after the last votes of the week, King said President Obama and his "minions" must have checked the congressional calendar before deciding on the Thursday prime-time announcement. King noted that "95 percent" of lawmakers would be out of town by the 8 p.m. address to head home for the Thanksgiving holiday.
"We shouldn't think it's timed that way by accident," King said. "It's strategically timed so that members of Congress have just left town anxious to embrace our families and celebrate Thanksgiving."
Congress isn't scheduled to reconvene until Dec. 1.
Reports have indicated that the president's executive action will include allowing the parents of people in the U.S. under the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) to stay in the country. King argued that illegal immigrants facing deportation should receive consequences.
"The president's prepared now to reward family members of DACA recipients. Why? Because he doesn't want to break up families is my presumption. But these are people that are breaking up their own families. They put themselves in that condition," King said.
King has been one of the loudest proponents of defunding the executive action through an upcoming appropriations bill to avoid a government shutdown after Dec. 11. The Iowa Republican argued that a standoff resulting in a government shutdown, like the one in October 2013, would be blamed on President Obama.
"If we should be forced into that situation, and if the president were to shut the government down again, we would be in a similar circumstance," King said.
Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee have been trying to throw cold water on the idea that the executive action could be blocked through a spending bill, noting that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is funded through fees.
But King insisted Congress could do whatever it wants and could at least pass a disapproval resolution.
"This is not rocket science. Are we going to allow the president to violate the Constitution and say our rules in the House won't let us restrain the president?" King asked.
Thanksgiving is a week away. Why do they not work until Wednesday like I do...?
King is right, but wow, has DC become the true Monarchy we all feared or what?
Yeah, no kidding and for me Friday too.
Nothing Kim Jong O does is accidental.
The states’ Attorney Generals will be at the office and many Supreme Court justices will have blank injunction papers at hand.
Possible unrest in Ferguson could overshadow this executive action. Lots of people are going to be pissed at lots of things going on.
Obama timed this to coincide with the release if the Ferguson No Bill. No one ever claimed he is actually stupid. He is cagey and scheming.
Other than a VERY few, I say...they’re ALL in this together.
Boehner’s putting on his tough guy *act* and just said this....
A Message Before The President’s Immigration’s Speech
November 20, 2014
Speaker Boehner has just released this short message ahead of the president’s immigration speech tonight....
BOEHNER: “Instead of working together to fix our broken immigration system, the president says he’s acting on his own. That’s just not how our democracy works. The president has said before that ‘he’s not king’ and he’s ‘not an emperor,’ but he’s sure acting like one. And he’s doing it a time when the American people want nothing more than for us to work together.”
Blah, flipping, blah dee blah, blah, Boehner...you SPINELESS coward!
Oh, by the way....our immigration system is *broken*...it’s just NOT BEING ENFORCED, TRAITOR!
I agree.
Saw two Osprey’s doing a fly-by over Glendale / Los Angeles day before yesterday.
I thought it was probably a sight seeing venture at first. Then I thought better, and wondered if it wasn’t getting a lay of the land before suspected civil unrest.
Damned right, Steve. Because you serve with a bunch of unprincipled, spineless jellyfish, who wouldn't know the obligations of their oaths if they came up and slapped them in the head.
Boehner should convene the House and Mitch should insist his Caucus come back to town. No one should leave until we see each and every GOP member on Congress standing united behind the Constitution of the United States. With an Action Plan
So long as Obama will not enforce the law, there is no action the Congress can take that will ensure border control
Until Obama is gone there is no real solution.
The Republican inaction is actually action denying the President a law that has parts he will enforce and other parts he will not.
I still want to a plan. :)
I agree. If it’s so important to them that Obama is out of control, they should stay in DC, and I mean over Thanksgiving and Christmas.
All hail the Caliph.
Imbecile. How did this guy ever get into Congress? We were given a representative republic by the founders. NOT a democracy. The founders believed democracies were evil and warned against them. Another myth spread to all our children by the federal DOE.
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