Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said Tuesday that he’s prepared to vote against the very immigration reform bill on which he’s taken a leading role and ostensibly staked much of his political future.
Rubio told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that “a sizeable number of Republicans” are prepared to vote in favor of immigration reform, but not until amendments are added to the Gang of 8’s proposal that will strengthen border security and limit the discretion given to the Department of Homeland Security in the bill’s ultimate implementation.
Hewitt wondered if Rubio would still vote for the bill if those amendments fail to pass.
“Well, I think if those amendments don’t pass, then I think we’ve got a bill that isn’t going to become law, and I think we’re wasting our time. So the answer is no. If they don’t pass, then we’ve got to keep working to ensure that we get to a bill that can become a law,” Rubio told Hewitt. “We’re not interested in passing a Senate bill. We’re interested in passing a law that reforms a broken legal immigration system, that begins to enforce the law, and that deals with the 11 million people who are here illegally. And that’s the goal of this endeavor. And so if those amendments fail, we’ve got to go back to the drawing board and keep working until we can figure out one that will pass. But I don’t understand why anyone would be against it, as such, I don’t think there is a good reason to be against strengthening border security for our country.”
h/t Byron York
