WASHINGTON – A White House lunch aiming for cooperation boiled into a fresh dispute with Republicans over immigration reform Friday, with GOP leaders warning President Barack Obama to his face not to take unilateral action. The president stood unflinchingly by his plan to act.
Republicans attending the postelection lunch at Obama’s invitation said they asked him for more time to work on legislation, but the president said his patience was running out.
He underscored his intent to act on his own by the end of the year if they don’t approve legislation to ease deportations before then and send it to him to sign.
The Republicans’ approach, three days after they resoundingly won control of the Senate in midterm elections, “seemed to fall on deaf ears,” Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said in a telephone interview. “The president, instead of being contrite or saying in effect to America, ‘I hear you,’ as a result of the referendum on his policies that drove this last election, he seems unmoved and even defiant.’
“I don’t know why he would want to sabotage his last two years as president by doing something this provocative,” said Cornyn. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell earlier this week said the president’s stance was “like waving a red flag in front of a bull.”
Obama press secretary Josh Earnest said there was no reason that executive action on immigration should kill opportunities to find common ground.
“I could stand up here and say Republicans to vote once again for the 50th time to repeal the Affordable Care Act, that that’s playing with fire or waving a red flag in front of a bull. I’m not really sure what that means,” Earnest said.
Friday’s meeting was tense at times, according to a senior House Republican aide.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, about to lose his grip on the upper chamber, barely said a word, the aide said. The aide was not authorized to describe the back-and-forth publicly by name and spoke only on condition of anonymity.
Publicly Obama’s tone was more upbeat as he opened the gathering. He pledged to work on ending long-running partisan gridlock and to be open to Republican ideas. The president said the lunch was a chance to “explore where we can make progress” after Americans showed in the midterm elections that they wanted to see more accomplished in Washington.
“They’d like to see more cooperation,” Obama said, sitting at the middle of 13 lawmakers in the Old Family Dining Room set with the Truman china. “And I think all of us have the responsibility, me in particular, to try to make that happen.”
Reporters were ushered out before any lawmaker spoke or the lunch of sea bass was served. Republican descriptions of the meeting were provided after they returned to Capitol Hill.
For the record, Boehner’s office said he suggested that the president should back a Republican jobs bill as a starting place for bipartisan action.
Obama said at the start he was interested in “hearing and sharing ideas” for compromise on measures to boost the economy, then mentioned his personal priorities of college affordability and investment in road and building projects. He also touted improved monthly job growth numbers out Friday as evidence his economic policies are working, saying, “We’re doing something right here.”
Briefings on Ebola and the Islamic State from Pentagon officials dominated much of the meeting, and the immigration debate was said to have lasted about half an hour. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said Republicans told Obama that any executive order, particularly on immigration but any issue, would be a “toxic decision.”
“He still hasn’t come to grips with the reality of the election and the consequences of the election,” Barrasso said. “His tone and tenor didn’t seem to reflect that of somebody whose policies were just significantly rejected all across the country just three days ago.”
Associated Press writers Donna Cassata and Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.
