WASHINGTON — House conservatives bungled a coup against House Speaker John Boehner but now look like winners, pushing Republicans further right.
Rather than punish and isolate those who opposed him as leader, Boehner surprised many Friday by embracing an immigration plan that’s tougher than lawmakers had expected.
It would block President Barack Obama’s recent limits on deportations and undo protections for immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
The House is heading toward a vote Wednesday.
As the rebellious hard-liners celebrated, mainstream Republicans said Boehner’s decision probably portends firmly conservative approaches to other issues. That would complicate life for some of the more moderate Senate Republicans and ensure fierce battles with the Democratic president.
Florida Rep. Richard Nugent, one of the 25 House Republicans who voted to oust Boehner, praised the Boehner-backed immigration plan.
The dissidents have complained Boehner, R-Ohio, is too willing to compromise with Obama and Democrats. But rather than seeing the rebels frozen out during private GOP discussions on immigration strategy, Nugent said, “this time it’s a very collaborative approach.”
For now, though, Nugent is still off the House Rules Committee, where membership is at the speaker’s discretion.
Equally enthusiastic was Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican sometimes portrayed by Democrats as the most unreasonable of conservative purists.
Some Boehner allies had urged him to isolate Goh mert and the other rebels.
But that approach might permanently antagonize Tea Party-leaning Republicans and “force Boehner into making more concessions” to Democrats to pass bills, “which is the last thing in the world we want,” GOP Rep. Kenny Marchant of Texas said shortly after Tuesday’s leadership vote.
By Friday, Marchant was reassured: “The focus now is to solicit input and try to bring them into the fold.”
Boehner’s agreement to nudge his caucus rightward, especially on immigration, could cause headaches for Republican presidential candidates needing Latino votes. It also will complicate life for Senate Republicans, who now hold the majority but generally cannot pass bills without at least six Democratic votes, thanks to filibuster powers.
At issue is a $39.7 billion spending bill to keep the Department of Homeland Security funded after February.
The House version would block Obama’s November order granting temporary relief from deportation to about 4 million immigrants who are in the country illegally. Most have been here at least five years and have children who are citizens or legal permanent residents.
In a surprise to many, the House GOP proposal also would reverse Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a 2012 program that removed deportation threats to certain immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. as children.
