'That was not the deal': McCarthy, Ryan renege on immigration vow
Source: Politico
The California Republican aiming to be speaker backs away from a promised vote on a guest worker program.
By RACHAEL BADE 07/24/2018 05:03 AM EDT
House GOP leaders are reneging on a vow to hold an immigration vote before the August recess, a move that puts House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy in a particularly awkward spot as he seeks to become the next speaker.
In June, McCarthy (R-Calif.) personally promised several rank-and-file members a vote on a new guest-worker program for farmers, an offer backed by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). The assurance was critical at the time: It persuaded Reps. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) and Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) not to sign on to an effort — which Republican leaders were desperately trying to stop — to force a vote on legislation creating a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, the immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. The so-called discharge petition ultimately fell two signatures short.
But now, Republican leaders have no plans to take up the guest-worker program before the summer break, according to four sources in leadership. Ryan does not want to hold a vote that’s certain to fail, they said. But that reasoning is of no consolation to Ross and other proponents of the guest-worker bill, who said McCarthy’s promise to hold a vote was unconditional.
“That was not the deal; the deal was that we’re taking it up regardless,” Ross said, arguing that the lack of 218 votes shouldn’t preclude the promised vote. “There are those of us [who] need to go back [home] and show that we’re doing all we can to do what we said we would do. And if it fails, it fails.”
Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/24/house-republicans-mccarthy-immigration-736248
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This was exactly what they wanted. 
