John Boehner calls out Ted Cruz, Jeff Sessions on immigration feud
The intraparty Republican warfare is beginning. In a sign of the tension between the Republican House and Senate, Speaker John Boehner challenged firebrand GOP Sens. Ted Cruz and Jeff Sessions on Tuesday to craft legislation to block President Barack Obamaâs executive actions on immigration, the boldest sign of the otherwise below-the-surface friction between the two chambers. Story Continued Below After a closed House Republican meeting, Boehner (R-Ohio) said his chamber has âwon this fight,â but he added that the âfight must be won in the United States Senate.â âItâs time for Sen. Cruz and Sen. Sessions and Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats to stand with the American people and to block the presidentâs actions,â Boehner said. Cruz later said he hadnât seen Boehnerâs remarks and wouldnât comment on them. The tension has bubbled to the surface hours before the Senate takes its first set of votes on House-passed legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security while gutting Obamaâs executive actions on immigration. The Senate is not expected to pass the bill, and the Senate will have to find a way to approve funding legislation before the Feb. 27 deadline. Some Republicans have expressed doubt about the deadline. Boehnerâs comments reflect the closed-door feeling in House leadership about Cruz and Sessions. They have both blamed the House for bending in legislative debates, and Boehnerâs leadership team now wants Cruz (R-Texas) and Sessions (R-Ala.) to find a way out of this pickle. Boehner also mentioned Democratic Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Claire McCaskill of Missouri, saying they have criticized Obamaâs executive action and that he wondered whether it was âall talk.â