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.
“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. Read More: HERE
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