A number of Republicans within Congress have put the White House on notice that a decision by President Obama to enact immigration reform by making use of his executive powers could result in a shutdown of the government; however, the White House has responded by saying that the president will not be prevented from taking action by threats.
Josh Earnest, the press secretary for the White House, has released a statement saying that the president will take action if Republicans in the House of Representatives continue to refuse to do so and that there is a high degree of support throughout the United States for the president to do just this; however, Representative Steve King has warned that should millions of undocumented immigrants gain amnesty and a path to citizenship because of executive action, the Republican party will not refrain from attacking Obama.
“If the president wields his pen and commits that unconstitutional act to legalize millions, I think that becomes something that is nearly politically nuclear,” King told the Des Moines Register. “I think the public would be mobilized and galvanized and that changes the dynamic of any continuing resolution and how we might deal with that.”
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Marco Rubio have both said that should Obama take executive action on the issue of immigration reform, they might put a halt to forthcoming budget discussions. Last year the Republican party voted to shut the government down over the economy, which is something that could happen again.