Trump mixes signals on immigration bill
President stops short of endorsing middle-ground proposal
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump ignited eleventh-hour confusion Friday over Republican efforts to push immigration legislation through the House, saying he won’t sign a “moderate” package. He later seemed to back away from that, but the episode left uncertain whether GOP leaders would press ahead with votes next week.
Questions emerged a few days before GOP leaders had planned roll calls on a pair of Republican bills: a hardright proposal and a middleground plan negotiated by the party’s conservative and moderate wings.
The compromise bill would open a door to citizenship for young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children, and ease the separation of children from their parents when families are detained crossing the border — a practice that has drawn bipartisan condemnation in recent days.
“I’m looking at both of them,” Mr. Trump said on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” about the two bills. “I certainly wouldn’t sign the more moderate one.”
Top congressional Republicans and White House aides struggled to understand Mr. Trump’s comment. Hours later, he tweeted that any bill “MUSTHAVE” provisions financing his wall with Mexico and curbing the existing legal immigration system. Those items are included in the middle-ground-package.
“Go for it! WIN!” Mr. Trump wrote.
Mr. Trump stopped short of explicitly endorsing the middle-ground legislation, but a senior White House official said his tweet was designed to signal his support.
The official said Mr. Trump made his earlier comment because he thought his Fox interviewer had asked about an effort by GOP moderates — abandoned for now — that would have likely led to House passage of liberal-leaning bills party leaders oppose.
Despite their policy clashes, both Republican factions have been eager for the votes to be held as a way to show constituents where they stand, and party leaders want to move on from an issue that divides the GOP and complicates their effort to retain House control in November’s elections.
Both the conservative and compromise bills would provide money for Mr. Trump’s long-sought border wall with Mexico and other strict border security provisions.
The middle-ground measure would mandate that families be kept together for as long as they are in the custody of the Homeland Security Department, whose agencies enforce immigration laws.
While the more-conservative measure is seen as virtually certain to lose, party leaders have nurtured hopes that the compromise version could pass. Mr. Trump’s backing has been seen as crucial, and his apparent pullback would be an embarrassing setback.
Rep. Patrick McHenry, RN.C., the GOP’s No. 2 vote counter, said leaders were seeking “clarity” from the White House after Mr. Trump made his comments on Fox. He also suggested that plans for votes next week werebeing reconsidered.