Quick Hit: House Votes, Earnest Vents
Before the House passed the meaningless Yoho bill, Josh Earnest called out the GOP on immigration.
When it comes to fixing the immigration system, the GOP supports "doing nothing," according to White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.
Surprising no one, the Republican-majority House passed a bill designed to rebuke President Barack Obama for taking unilateral action on immigration. HR 5759, authored by Rep. Ted Yoho, R.-Fla., declares Obama's executive action "null and void," but in reality, the bill will die in the Senate. It only was supposed to let conservatives “vent” outrage at Obama but avoid actually doing something - like shutting down the government, say, or passing their own immigration reform bill.
But not that many lawmakers on the right like the bill, a few say a government shutdown should still happen, and the only person who seemed to be venting was White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.
[READ: Who's the Tyrant When it Comes to Immigration?]
On a press call Wednesday, attended by U.S. News’ own Allie Bidwell, the subject was an administration plan easing access to college, but Earnest veered into immigration territory and unloaded on the GOP over the Yoho bill. He said the bill the House just passed would unfairly expose DREAMers - the children of undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and are attending college or serving in the military - to deportation:
Not that harsh or biting. Earnest, however, was just getting warmed up:
Wow – that could leave a mark.
[ALSO: The Numbers Behind Immigration]
It’s hard to know exactly what Earnest was thinking when he went off-topic and partisan, particularly about a bill everyone predicted - justifiably - wouldn’t live past the afternoon news cycle. Perhaps Earnest saw an opportunity to get ahead of the news and further cast Republicans as the anti-immigration policy, or maybe he was just grumpy and needed a snack.
Either way, his remarks offer a glimpse into how a seemingly emboldened White House intends to frame newly-empowered congressional Republicans on an issue that could give the GOP fits in the months and years to come. If the meaningless Yoho bill and vote on it is any indication, Earnest and his comrades will have plenty of material to work with.