GOP Rep: Border Crisis Won't Hurt GOP Since 'Americans Care More About Americans'

By Alice Ollstein | June 21, 2018 1:33 pm

With House Republicans’ immigration bills likely to go down in flames Thursday afternoon, many vulnerable GOP lawmakers are fearing the political ramifications of their inaction in the face of public outrage over the mass separation of migrant children and families.

But Rep. Pete King (R-NY) is not too concerned.

“Americans care more about Americans,” he told TPM a few hours before the vote.

King, who supports Speaker Paul Ryan’s immigration bill that is currently bleeding support from both the hardline and moderate wings of the GOP caucus, added that he does believe Congress should eventually act on the issue of child separations. But King believes President Trump’s executive order on Wednesday took much of the heat off of Republicans, even though the order allows the administration to continue separating families and does nothing to reunite the thousands already separated.

“I think it will tone down,” he said of the widespread outrage. “This immediate crisis seems to be going away. And if they aren’t arresting families every weekend, then yeah, it’s going away, from the public eye. And if it’s not in the public eye, if you don’t have the dramatic footage, there is always another issue that comes along. There’s a new issue every week.”

more
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/pete-king-no-political-consequences-family-separations-border