http://thehill.com/policy/finance/234243-gop-majority-whip-no-deal-on-clean-dhs-funding-bill-for-next-weekBy Rebecca Shabad - 03/01/15 10:14 AM EST
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) on Sunday rejected rumors that GOP leaders struck a deal with Democratic leaders to bring a “clean” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill to the floor for a vote this week.
“There is no such deal and there’s no such bill,” Scalise said on “Fox News Sunday." “On Friday, there was a bill on the House floor to pass a clean funding bill. We rejected that because we said we’re fighting the president on what he’s doing illegally on immigration.”
Just before the House voted on a bill late Friday to fund DHS for one week, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) encouraged the rest of her caucus to vote for the measure and said in a letter, “Your vote tonight will assure that we will vote for full funding next week.”
House Republican Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-Wash.) told The Hill at the Conservative Political Action Conference that Republican leaders did not reach an agreement with Pelosi for next week.
“What we did was pass a bill that now forces the Senate to vote on going to conference. We actually passed a bill that pushes back on the president’s illegal actions on immigration. They made changes to that bill that we don’t like,” Scalise said Sunday. “On Monday, the Senate will actually be taking that vote.”
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), however, has promised he would block a conference.
“I would encourage anybody who disagrees with the president’s illegal actions on immigration, like I do, to light up the Senate switchboard between now and Monday evening,” Scalise said.
Scalise was asked several times whether he’s worried about an effort among conservatives to oust Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) if he brings a “clean” DHS spending bill up for a vote this week.
“Obviously, our members have a lot of differences on how we maybe want to go about tactics. But our goal is the same,” said Scalise, which he said is to challenge Obama’s immigration actions.
A Democratic congressional aide following Scalise's interview Sunday said the majority whip is either lying or doesn't know about commitments Boehner has made.
