With a brand-new Republican Congress at his back, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) had stern words for President Barack Obama on his plans to issue executive orders on immigration: Don’t even think about it.
“If the president acts on his own, he will poison the well,” Boehner told reporters at a Thursday press conference. “If you play with matches, you can risk burning yourself. The American people made it clear on Election Day: They want to get things done and they don’t want the president acting on a unilateral basis. “
It was the exact same language — “poisoning the well” — that incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell used on Wednesday.
Obama, for his part, said after the election that his party’s losses would not deter him from issuing executive orders to reform the immigration system.