House Speaker John Boehner’s office on Friday pointedly disputed the White House’s claim that he has promised to bring up immigration reform in the House this year.
Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama, reportedly told a Las Vegas conference of investors and donors on Thursday that Boehner has committed to bringing up reform.
“I think we have a window this summer, between now and August, to get something done,” Jarrett said, as quoted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We have a commitment from Speaker Boehner, who’s very frustrated with his caucus.”
A Boehner aide said the Speaker has made no such commitment.
“Republicans are committed to reforming our immigration system, but as the speaker has said repeatedly, it’s difficult to see how we make progress until the American people have faith that President Obama will enforce the law as written,” said Michael Steel, Boehner’s spokesman.
On Friday, Jarrett clarified that the commitment from Boehner wasn’t specifically to the White House or to a specific time frame.
.@chucktodd lost in translation– I said Boehner has made commitment to trying, not that he has made commitment to us or time frame.
— Valerie Jarrett (@vj44) May 16, 2014
