Senator Marco Rubio is bailing on his own immigration bill.
Not only is the senator from Florida now telling House Republicans not to pass the Senate legislation he co-sponsored and championed for months – he’s urging them not to negotiate with the Senate at all.
In a brutal twist for reform, Rubio’s office told conservative news outlet Breitbart on Sunday that Speaker Boehner should not go to conference with the Senate to pass a final bill. That’s the position anti-immigration House Republicans have taken for months, but the whole reason they oppose Senate talks is that they’re scared Boehner will cut a deal that’s – well, that’s just like Rubio’s bill.
Instead, Rubio suggested the House pass a series of piecemeal bills that could fall short of a comprehensive package.
Rubio’s new position is a shocking turnaround, considering many believed he would use his conservative star power to give the Republican-controlled House cover for a tough vote on immigration reform. The hope among national Republicans when Rubio joined the Senate’s efforts was that its passage would both move the party forward and leave Rubio well-positioned for a presidential run.
“He gets some heat from the right and, before you know it, the boy wonder retreats and dissembles,” Frank Sharry, president of America’s Voice, told msnbc.
The “pass it piecemeal” line is what House Republicans are already doing. Democrats have shown some willingness to entertain the approach, if Republicans included a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in the mix.
