McConnell May Put Ted Cruz-Backed Immigration Bill On Agenda Amid GOP Fight

FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2013 file photo, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, right, accompanied by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Republican presidential rivals Rubio and Cruz are backpedaling f... FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2013 file photo, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, right, accompanied by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Republican presidential rivals Rubio and Cruz are backpedaling furiously as they try to outmaneuver each other on immigration. Rubio co-wrote a massive 2013 immigration bill that passed the Senate. He disavows it now, but Cruz won’t stop talking about it. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) MORE LESS
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has informed Democrats he may schedule a vote next week on a hard-line immigration bill pushed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a GOP candidate for president.

The move could bring debate over immigration to the Senate floor just as it flares on the presidential campaign trail. Cruz has been sparring with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, another GOP hopeful.

The bill is called Kate’s Law for the woman shot in San Francisco by an immigrant illegally in the country. It would increase penalties for re-entering the country illegally.

McConnell has been under conservative pressure to bring it to a vote. But the move could give a platform to Cruz, with whom McConnell has sparred.

Democratic aides spoke anonymously to disclose McConnell’s potential plans.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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