First, there were concerns from Hispanic Republicans that the bill would restrict legitimate asylum claims. Then, worries that its E-Verify provisions would hurt agriculture in rural districts. Whether or not drug cartels should be designated as terrorist organizations even became a GOP sticking point.Each step of the way, Speaker Kevin McCarthy put out fires, striking compromises or cajoling his members to hold their noses and vote for the bill.
That includes two long-shot measures House Republicans passed on crime in Washington and the COVID-19 national emergency that became law over President Joe Biden’s initial objections.Two weeks ago, McCarthy surprised Democrats by muscling a bill to raise the debt ceiling through the lower chamber. Following through on a promise to leverage the $31.4 trillion borrowing limit to extract spending cuts from Biden, he demanded, unsuccessfully, that the president sit down and negotiate.
Plus, corn-state lawmakers were revolting over the repeal of ethanol tax credits. The speaker found himself facing a growing number of “undecideds” or outright “noes.” Similarly, there was no hard deadline for the GOP border security bill to pass Thursday, as it had languished for weeks. But the timing was symbolic: Title 42, the pandemic-era policy that allowed Biden to turn away immigrants at the border, would end at midnight, and House Republicans wanted a dramatic rebuke of the president’s handling of the border.
But centrists were willing to overlook how conservative the bill was if it meant getting Biden to the negotiating table. The legislation would be watered down, they figured, in talks with the White House anyway.