House Speaker Paul Ryan spoke against Rep. Carlos Curbelo's (R-Fla.) decision to file a Discharge Petition for Rep. Jeff Denham's (R-Calif.) resolution (H.Res. 774), which could force a vote in the House on DACA amnesty legislation. Though he would prefer to vote on DACA "before midterms," Ryan said that there's no use in forcing a floor vote on amnesty legislation that Pres. Trump will most likely veto.
"I don't want show ponies," Ryan said, arguing that votes on legislation the president has not agreed to would amount to a distraction. "That means the White House will need to be a part of this and we'll need a bill the president will sign.
Ryan urged Representatives to draft a bill in line with the White House's immigration priorities, in hopes that they can "make it into law".
"Going down a path having some spectacle on the floor that just results in a veto doesn't solve the problem ...
"We actually want to solve this problem, so that's why we want to come up with a solution that the president will support."
If every Democrat were to sign onto the Petition, only 25 Republicans would need to sign on to force a floor vote.
If the petition garners the required number of signatures, a House vote would be required on four proposals -- Rep. Bob Goodlatte's Securing America's Future Act, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard's (D-Calif.) Dream Act, an amendment of House Speaker Paul Ryan's (R-Wisc.) choosing, and an amendment of Rep. Denham's choosing.
The proposal that receives the most votes and exceeds 218 votes would be passed by the House.
For more on this story, see Politico.
