President Barack Obama was unrepentant to lawmakers when they repeatedly challenged him in private about his plans to take executive action on immigration, said incoming Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn.
The Texas Republican said "person after person" confronted the president about his plans to give amnesty to millions of immigrants during a two-hour closed door lunch he hosted with lawmakers at the White House on Friday,
Breitbart reported.
"He was pretty defiant. He was pretty defiant," Cornyn said. "For the president to poison the well at the very outset is really unimaginable."
Obama used the lunch to announce his decision to congressional leaders even though they had warned him against taking unilateral action in the immediate aftermath of their electoral victories.
The president has vowed to act before the end of the year, but the White House has not elaborated on what the executive order will entail. The possibilities include halting deportations of the parents of children brought to the United States illegally. It could also be broader, affecting as many as the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently estimated to be living in the U.S.
Before the announcement,
House Speaker John Boehner said the president would "poison the well" if he changes immigration policy without waiting for Congress to act, and incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said executive action on immigration would be like "waving a red flag in front of a bull."
On Sunday,
Obama defended his decision to act and said he was not trying to circumvent Congress, but that he had waited long enough for Congress to take action.
"The minute they pass a bill that addresses the problems with immigration reform, I will sign it and it supersedes whatever actions I take," Obama said on CBS' "Face the Nation."
"And I'm encouraging them to do so ... on parallel track we're going to be implementing an executive action.
"But if in fact a bill gets passed, nobody's going to be happier than me to sign it, because that means it will be permanent rather than temporary."
Obama's action could also drive a wedge between Republicans, with some saying the party must take steps to modify its position against illegal immigrants and others continuing to believe they are lawbreakers who should be returned to their home countries.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.