Speaker Mike Johnson is exploring whether to put legislation on the House floor that would end the ability of pregnant women to enter the United States legally to gain citizenship for their children.
The possible vote, described by four people granted anonymity to share details of private conversations, would be a way for Johnson to appease hard-liners who are demanding a vote to end birthright citizenship after the Supreme Court ruled against Trump administration efforts to undermine it.
House passage of a measure to crack down the practice would be largely symbolic, as it stands no chance of overcoming the Senate filibuster. But Johnson’s most conservative members are also continuing to agitate for the chance to vote on legislation to crack down on legal immigration in the U.S., and Johnson needs a way to respond to those demands quickly.
“If there’s some legislative fix, we’ll advance that immediately,” Johnson said in an interview on Fox News Sunday over the weekend. While he warned that enacting a constitutional amendment would take “a little more time,” he added, “we’ve got to address this. It really is a serious, serious issue.”
A spokesperson for Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his possible plan to target what critics call “birth tourism.”
Further complicating matters, the speaker promised hard-liners last month that he would hold a vote before July 4 on legislation that would codify President Donald Trump’s border security priorities — in exchange for their support on a more narrow bill funding federal immigration enforcement activities.
Those members now say Johnson has gone back on his word and, in revolt, they ground legislative business to a halt, forcing GOP leaders to send the House home early for the holiday recess. It could still be a problem when the chamber reconvenes next week, and Johnson needs to come up with a solution quickly.
Several GOP centrists are open to Johnson’s latest idea, according to two other people with knowledge of the talks. But the dynamics are deeply tricky for Johnson, who must grapple with intraparty factions divided over the party’s approach to the immigration issue broadly.
A handful of moderate Republicans do not want to vote on immigration matters so close to the midterms, while a swath of Republicans in agriculture-heavy districts have warned Johnson he needs to address an overhaul of the visa process for seasonal immigrant farm workers as part of any immigration package that comes to the floor. But that would stoke major backlash from the far-right rank and file.
For now, Republicans are still stuck without a final agreement or way forward.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told reporters last week that Republicans were far from reaching a compromise, and one person involved in the talks Tuesday described senior House Republicans as “still pissing around” on the discussions.
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