The One Thing Republicans Can’t Agree On
Republicans are already bickering over just how cruel to immigrants they should be. The infighting could help stall or stop the worst part of Trump’s agenda.
The GOP is already fighting about just how far to go with Trump’s draconian vision for immigration.
Even with control of the House and Senate, Republicans will still have to fight tooth and nail to actually pass the majority of president-elect Trump’s immigration platform, a huge part of his campaign.
MAGA Republicans and more moderate Republicans currently disagree about how cruel they should be regarding the southern border. “We’re going to need a little time to figure out what shakes out,” said the more moderate Texas Republican Tony Gonzalez. “What does a conference in the House want? What does the conference in the Senate want? What does President Trump want? And then that’s when we have a short window to be able to jam that all through.”
Even more troubling for Republicans is that Trump loyalists like Jim Jordan want to slide the most extreme parts of Trump’s immigration plan into the reconciliation package, which could violate the budgetary rules that moderate Republicans prefer to abide by. Jordan said that he wants the Remain in Mexico policy—which requires migrants seeking asylum to remain outside of the United States while their claims are processed—to be included in this.
“We get sworn in on Jan. 3,” Jordan said. “We should pass H.R. 2 as a stand-alone bill or [break] it up into pieces—I’m open to either one—but pass all of that to show that we’re ready to go. Then see what parts of it … can be put into reconciliation.” This conflict is set to define the earliest days of Donald Trump’s presidency.