We know John Boehner thinks immigration reform is dead. But what about the people who control the party in power? At her weekly press conference today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi didn’t exactly give it winning prospects.
“If there is going to be any movement in that regard, it will require presidential leadership,” Pelosi said, in addition to an appetite in Congress.
So how fired up and ready to go is President Obama on the issue?
Last night, Obama told reporters immigration “[is] a matter of political will. Now, look, we’ve gone through a very tough year, and I’ve been working Congress pretty hard. So I know there may not be an appetite immediately to dive into another controversial issue. There’s still work that has to be done on energy. Midterms are coming up…. But I think we need to start a process at least to open up a smarter, better discussion than the one that is raging right now.”
Not exactly the juiced-up rhetoric you’d expect from a President trying to lead on an issue.
Pelosi wasn’t all glum. “There seems to be a good deal of support for something like that, but the legislation would have to begin in the Senate,” she said. And tonight, Senate Democratic leaders will officially unveil their framework for comprehensive immigration reform. Enter Obama?
Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
Facebook Conversations
Questions about commenting with non-Facebook accounts like Yahoo, or other concerns? Click here to read the TPM Commenting FAQ.