The White House on Tuesday dismissed complaints that it has not sought out sufficient input from Republicans on immigration reform.
“We have been in contact with everybody involved in this effort on Capitol Hill,” White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters at a daily briefing.
The office of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), a major GOP bellwether on immigration in the Senate, released a statement earlier on Tuesday claiming President Obama is “not working with Republicans on immigration reform.”
“Senator Rubio’s office has never discussed immigration policy with anyone in the White House,” said Alex Conant, a spokesman for Rubio. “To be clear: That’s fine with us – we actually think Congress should write the policy; not the White House. But an honest question: If the Obama Administration is serious about drafting & passing its own immigration reform, why wouldn’t they seek input from any Republicans whose support they’ll need?”
