Traveling with a congressional delegation to Ireland last week, House Speaker John Boehner told Irish leaders he is still committed to so-called immigration reform but needs to overcome objections from his caucus. According to an Irish Times reporter, “His remarks indicate he may yet move to confront opponents of reform within his own Republican party, which is in the vanguard of resistance to it and has a majority in the House.”
Boehner, who spoke at an Independence Day lunch of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland, said he declined to hold a House a vote on “immigration reform” because many in his caucus objected. He reportedly said some in his caucus thought the matter could be resolved by sticking their heads in the sand. “It doesn’t work that way,” Boehner said.
Breitbart News asked the Speaker’s office to comment on the Irish Times report. Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith told Breitbart, “The Speaker has made his position clear numerous times. Our immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed, starting with efforts to secure our border…This is a difficult issue that needs to be addressed. But the president’s decision to take unilateral action on immigration – action he himself said exceeded his authority 22 times – has sabotaged hopes of serious reform during his presidency.”
According to the Times report, Boehner also spoke of Republican support for trade talks between the U.S. and the European Union. Boehner reportedly said his job was to gather “218 frogs in a wheelbarrow and keep ’em long enough to pass the bill.”
Read more in The Irish Times and Breitbart News.
