Republican
leadership is going to fund sanctuary cities in the must-pass spending bill
next week, giving Democrats a huge victory while simultaneously undercutting
conservatives who put them in power, a senior GOP aide told The Daily Caller
News Foundation.
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“House
and Senate leadership has rolled over and played dead on border security. When
it comes to a border wall, they say it is not our problem. When it comes to
funding sanctuary cities, they say it is not our problem. What they are
essentially saying is we are going to pass bills with more Democrats than
Republicans,” the aide told TheDCNF. “This is a sign to administration that
leadership doesn’t care what the White House wants. Even though GOP members ran
on these issues. Conservatives mean it. The administration means it.”
The
White House is arguably more serious about immigration policy than any other
campaign promise President Donald Trump made in 2016.
Within
his first few weeks in office, Trump signed an executive order in January 2017
to strip federal grants from cities that harbor illegal immigrants. A federal
judge blocked the
president’s move that November, arguing that the administration did not have
the legal authority to cut funding that Congress had already
appropriated. The battle between the administration and federal courts is
still ongoing, but Congress has the means to end the debate, given that it has
the “power of the purse.”
Conservatives
in Congress, along with administration officials, are currently lobbying
leadership to stop funding sanctuary cities. The argument is if Congress stops
appropriating the money for these federal grants in the spending bill, the
court’s claim is undercut and the administration and Republicans could claim a
victory.
The
government shelled out roughly $27 billion in federal grants in 2016
alone, according to
American Transparency.
The
president himself called on Congress March 10 to stop giving money to cities
outright disobeying federal immigration laws.
“I’m
calling on Congress to stop funding sanctuary cities so we can save American
lives. The funding bill should not give precious and massive tax payer grants
to cities aiding and abetting criminals,” Trump said at the rally for failed Republican
congressional candidate Rick Saccone. “It’s what they do.”
Funding
sanctuary cities is not the only thing that will rile up conservatives in the
omnibus bill, which lawmakers must agree on by the hard March 23 deadline.
Early
drafts of the spending bill, which are being kept under “lock and key,” a GOP
aide told TheDCNF, include Planned Parenthood funding, Obamacare subsidies, gun
control legislation, a large tax on internet sales, and a host of other
policies completely against Republican campaign promises.
“This
is why guys like Rick Saccone lose. The expectations for Republicans to
maintain control ought to be very low. Republicans want to run on this platform
of tax cuts and ‘my name is not Nancy (Pelosi),'” national grassroots
conservative organization ForAmerica President David Bozell told TheDCNF. “How
much currency does the ‘we aren’t Pelosi’ have anymore? This is not 2012. These
are base races. You have to have your base energized for you, and giving
Democrats everything they want is going to keep base voters at home.”
“There
is nothing preventing Republicans from being on offense on all of the key
issues, like immigration, Obamacare, Planned
Parenthood — all of them,” Bozell told TheDCNF. “You are talking about
trillions of dollars that our representatives are spending under the cover of
darkness. Their number one responsibility is to be stewards of taxpayer
dollars.”
Speaker
of the House Paul Ryan’s office did not respond to requests for comment as to
whether or not leadership is planning on allocating funds for sanctuary cities.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
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