Trump to GOP: ‘Stop wasting time’ on immigration legislation

Plea to wait until after midterms complicates push on House bill

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump told Republicans on Friday that they should “stop wasting their time” trying to pass an immigration measure before the November midterms, potentially sinking efforts by House leaders to build a consensus on a bill.

Congress has been facing growing pressure to act on immigration, including from Trump himself. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has offered a bill that would toughen enforcement laws and fund Trump’s proposed wall on the southern border. It would also aim to help young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and halt separations of families detained at the border together.

The migrant family crisis has created further urgency to act.

But while the bill was aimed at bridging the differences between moderate and conservative lawmakers, the prospects of passing anything look grim – and a tweet from the president could further dampen any chances the bill has of winning over conservatives.

Trump tweeted Friday: “Republicans should stop wasting their time on Immigration until after we elect more Senators and Congressmen/women in November.”

“Dems are just playing games, have no intention of doing anything to solves this decades old problem. We can pass great legislation after the Red Wave!” Trump wrote.

The tweet was “a bit of a surprise after the conference meeting. I must confess, I still think it’s something that Americans want us to do,” Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., told reporters.

A vote on the bill scheduled this week was postponed until next week because GOP lawmakers could not agree on the details. More hard-line legislation failed to pass Thursday.

Before Republicans postponed a vote on the bill Thursday, the president blamed Senate Democrats for its weak prospects of becoming law.