WASHINGTON — President Obama chose confrontation over conciliation on Thursday as he asserted the powers of the Oval Office to reshape the nation’s immigration system and dared members of next year’s Republican-controlled Congress to reverse his actions on behalf of millions of immigrants.
In an address to the nation from the East Room of the White House, Mr. Obama displayed years of frustration with congressional gridlock and a desire to frame the last years of his presidency with far-reaching executive actions. The president’s directive will shield up to five million people from deportation and allow many to work legally, but will not give them a path to citizenship.
“The actions I’m taking are not only lawful, they’re the kinds of actions taken by every single Republican president and every Democratic president for the past half century,” Mr. Obama said. “To those members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better, or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer: Pass a bill.”
Conservative lawmakers accused the president of a gross abuse of authority and promised a legislative fight when they take full control of Congress next year. But even before Mr. Obama’s speech, Republicans appeared divided about how to stop him and unsure about how to express their anger without severely damaging their standing with Latinos.
Mr. Obama’s actions will sharpen the focus of government enforcement on criminals and foreigners who pose security threats, vastly reducing the specter that many immigrants would be detained by federal agents. High-tech workers will have an easier time coming to the United States, and security on the border will be increased.
The centerpiece of the president’s announcement is a new program for undocumented people who are the parents of United States citizens. Most of those people — estimated by officials to number slightly more than four million — would be eligible for a new legal status that would defer their deportations and allow them to work legally in the country. They must pass background checks and pay taxes, but they will get Social Security cards, officials said.
How Republicans choose to proceed in their opposition to the president’s directive will shape the final two years of Mr. Obama’s tenure and could help set the tone of the 2016 presidential campaign. Several Republicans on Thursday said they wanted to use an forthcoming spending bill and the threat of a government shutdown as leverage against Mr. Obama, while others in the party reached for ways that Congress might undercut the president’s actions by withholding money or threatening other priorities.
“If President Obama acts in defiance of the people and imposes his will on the country, Congress will act,” said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who will become Senate majority leader in January. “We’re considering a variety of options. But make no mistake. Make no mistake. When the newly elected representatives of the people take their seats, they will act.”
Even as Republican lawyers analyzed what the White House said was the legal basis of Mr. Obama’s actions, it remained unclear how they might undo them. The agency that will carry out most of the president’s executive actions, Citizenship and Immigration Services, is funded with application fees, and does not rely on a budget vote in Congress to keep operating.
But accusations of a presidential abuse of power appear to have gained some traction in recent days, as a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll found just 38 percent support for Mr. Obama’s executive actions even as there is broad support for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. In the poll, 48 percent said they oppose Mr. Obama’s actions. Even a few Democrats have expressed concern about the propriety of the president’s actions.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Tuesday, November 04, 2014
Republicans take the senate
Washington (CNN) -- A Republican tide ripped the Senate away from Democrats Tuesday, according to CNN projections, giving the GOP full control of Congress and the power to pin down President Barack Obama during his last two years in office.
The thumping win upends the balance of power between the White House and Capitol Hill only six years after Obama's Democrats swept to power and marginalized Republicans in a rush to reform health care, Wall Street and pass a huge stimulus package.
Now, it's Democrats who will take the back seat on Capitol Hill, relying mostly on the power of the filibuster to stymie Republicans and keep Obama's legacy intact.
"For too long, this administration has tried to tell the American people what is good for them and then blame somebody else when their policies didn't work out," Mitch McConnell, who is expected to become the next Senate majority leader, said in a victory speech.
House Speaker John Boehner, celebrating a widened majority, said he is "humbled by the responsibility the American people have placed with us."
"But this is not a time for celebration," he said. "It's time for government to start getting results and implementing solutions to the challenges facing our country, starting with our still-struggling economy.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has controlled the Senate since 2007, congratulated Republicans on their victory.
"The message from voters is clear: they want us to work together," Reid said. "I look forward to working with Senator McConnell to get things done for the middle class."
But there was silence from the White House after Tuesday's results became clear. Obama will make a public statement Wednesday on an election many will see as a repudiation of his presidency, and he will host bipartisan leaders on Friday to try to chart a way forward.
***
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans seized control of the Senate and strengthened their hold on the House in a wave of Election Day victories Tuesday that served as a repudiation of President Barack Obama’s second-term policies and put a series of Democratic-leaning states — including Obama’s home, Illinois — under control of new Republican governors.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell defeated Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky, putting him in position to become the new Senate majority leader and confront Obama over his signature health care law.
Republicans took over formerly Democratic Senate seats in seven states, including GOP-leaning Arkansas, Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia. That number also included three states that figured prominently in Obama’s two victorious presidential campaigns: Iowa and Colorado, where he won twice, and North Carolina, where he won in 2008. Republicans needed a net gain of six seats in all to win back the majority for the first time since 2006.
“Thanks to you, Iowa, we are headed to Washington, and we are going to make them squeal,” declared Iowa Republican Joni Ernst, who vowed to cut pork in Washington in television ads that memorably cited her growing up castrating hogs.
In the House, Republicans were on track to meet or exceed the 246 seats they held during President Harry S. Truman’s administration more than 60 years ago.
“We are humbled by the responsibility the American people have placed with us, but this is not a time for celebration,” said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. “It’s time for government to start getting results and implementing solutions to the challenges facing our country, starting with our still-struggling economy.”
In state capitols, Republicans were poised to leave their imprint, picking up governors’ seats in reliably Democratic states like Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts. With Congress grappling with gridlock, states have been at the forefront of efforts to raise the minimum wage and implement Obama’s health care law.
Obama’s poor approval ratings turned him into a liability for Democrats seeking re-election. The outcome offered parallels to the sixth year of Republican George W. Bush’s presidency, when Democrats won sweeping victories amid voter discontent with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
*** [11/5/14]
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama and his powerful U.S. Senate adversary struck a conciliatory tone on Wednesday, but Obama's plans to proceed with new immigration rules foreshadowed a bumpy start to his relationship with a Republican-controlled Congress.
Obama and Mitch McConnell, who will become majority leader when Republicans take charge in the Senate in January, signaled they hoped to get past a previously frosty relationship to pass legislation on priorities on which they can both agree.
Republicans swept elections on Tuesday, capturing their biggest majority in the House of Representatives in more than 60 years and gaining a majority in the Senate for the first time since 2006. The election result limits what Obama can achieve without bipartisan support during his final two years in office.
"As president, I have a unique responsibility to try and make this town work," Obama, a Democrat, said at a White House news conference. "So, to everyone who voted, I want you to know that I hear you."
Obama lauded McConnell, with whom he said he hoped to share some Kentucky bourbon, and House Speaker John Boehner for expressing the wish to seek common ground after the elections. He spoke to both men earlier in the day.
McConnell said he believed Obama was interested in moving forward on trade agreements and tax reform, two issues at a standstill in Washington because of political differences.
"This gridlock and dysfunction can be ended. It can be ended by having a Senate that actually works," McConnell told reporters in his home state Kentucky.
But the words of reconciliation only went so far.
The thumping win upends the balance of power between the White House and Capitol Hill only six years after Obama's Democrats swept to power and marginalized Republicans in a rush to reform health care, Wall Street and pass a huge stimulus package.
Now, it's Democrats who will take the back seat on Capitol Hill, relying mostly on the power of the filibuster to stymie Republicans and keep Obama's legacy intact.
"For too long, this administration has tried to tell the American people what is good for them and then blame somebody else when their policies didn't work out," Mitch McConnell, who is expected to become the next Senate majority leader, said in a victory speech.
House Speaker John Boehner, celebrating a widened majority, said he is "humbled by the responsibility the American people have placed with us."
"But this is not a time for celebration," he said. "It's time for government to start getting results and implementing solutions to the challenges facing our country, starting with our still-struggling economy.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has controlled the Senate since 2007, congratulated Republicans on their victory.
"The message from voters is clear: they want us to work together," Reid said. "I look forward to working with Senator McConnell to get things done for the middle class."
But there was silence from the White House after Tuesday's results became clear. Obama will make a public statement Wednesday on an election many will see as a repudiation of his presidency, and he will host bipartisan leaders on Friday to try to chart a way forward.
***
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans seized control of the Senate and strengthened their hold on the House in a wave of Election Day victories Tuesday that served as a repudiation of President Barack Obama’s second-term policies and put a series of Democratic-leaning states — including Obama’s home, Illinois — under control of new Republican governors.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell defeated Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky, putting him in position to become the new Senate majority leader and confront Obama over his signature health care law.
Republicans took over formerly Democratic Senate seats in seven states, including GOP-leaning Arkansas, Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia. That number also included three states that figured prominently in Obama’s two victorious presidential campaigns: Iowa and Colorado, where he won twice, and North Carolina, where he won in 2008. Republicans needed a net gain of six seats in all to win back the majority for the first time since 2006.
“Thanks to you, Iowa, we are headed to Washington, and we are going to make them squeal,” declared Iowa Republican Joni Ernst, who vowed to cut pork in Washington in television ads that memorably cited her growing up castrating hogs.
In the House, Republicans were on track to meet or exceed the 246 seats they held during President Harry S. Truman’s administration more than 60 years ago.
“We are humbled by the responsibility the American people have placed with us, but this is not a time for celebration,” said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. “It’s time for government to start getting results and implementing solutions to the challenges facing our country, starting with our still-struggling economy.”
In state capitols, Republicans were poised to leave their imprint, picking up governors’ seats in reliably Democratic states like Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts. With Congress grappling with gridlock, states have been at the forefront of efforts to raise the minimum wage and implement Obama’s health care law.
Obama’s poor approval ratings turned him into a liability for Democrats seeking re-election. The outcome offered parallels to the sixth year of Republican George W. Bush’s presidency, when Democrats won sweeping victories amid voter discontent with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
*** [11/5/14]
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama and his powerful U.S. Senate adversary struck a conciliatory tone on Wednesday, but Obama's plans to proceed with new immigration rules foreshadowed a bumpy start to his relationship with a Republican-controlled Congress.
Obama and Mitch McConnell, who will become majority leader when Republicans take charge in the Senate in January, signaled they hoped to get past a previously frosty relationship to pass legislation on priorities on which they can both agree.
Republicans swept elections on Tuesday, capturing their biggest majority in the House of Representatives in more than 60 years and gaining a majority in the Senate for the first time since 2006. The election result limits what Obama can achieve without bipartisan support during his final two years in office.
"As president, I have a unique responsibility to try and make this town work," Obama, a Democrat, said at a White House news conference. "So, to everyone who voted, I want you to know that I hear you."
Obama lauded McConnell, with whom he said he hoped to share some Kentucky bourbon, and House Speaker John Boehner for expressing the wish to seek common ground after the elections. He spoke to both men earlier in the day.
McConnell said he believed Obama was interested in moving forward on trade agreements and tax reform, two issues at a standstill in Washington because of political differences.
"This gridlock and dysfunction can be ended. It can be ended by having a Senate that actually works," McConnell told reporters in his home state Kentucky.
But the words of reconciliation only went so far.
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