On Sunday, Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd sat down with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to discuss the ongoing battle over the President Obama’s executive action on immigration and its connection to funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
Throughout the discussion, Todd repeatedly insisted that “[t]his immigration dispute in the funding of Homeland Security was a cliff that the Republicans chose to create, and in this case as far as making the protest over the immigration policy a part of Homeland Security.”
After McCarthy explained that President Obama’s actions on immigration was the ultimate source of the problem, Todd continued to use the left’s argument that the GOP was choosing “to use DHS funding as your way to fund the president’s action.”
Following a lengthy discussion about the potential legislative strategy that could be used to fully fund Homeland Security, the Meet the Press moderator proceeded to press McCarthy to admit that the GOP is in disarray:
Do you have an issue inside your conference of conservatives? Here is what Devin Nunes, California Republican, said this morning in the L.A. Times. “I prefer to be in the arena voting than trying to placate a small group of phony conservative members who have no credible policy proposals and no political strategy to stop Obama’s lawlessness.” What do you say to that?
For his part, McCarthy pushed back at Todd’s assertion and maintained that “ [w]e have difference of opinion in strategy and tactics but in principle we are united. We’re united in the principle there is a right way and wrong way to legislate.”
The Meet the Press moderator continued to play up the supposed rift within the Republican Party and hinted that any disagreement could prevent Congress from getting any work done the rest of the year:
If Senate Republicans and House Republicans can't agree on a way forward on DHS funding and you guys have control of both houses, how are you going to get tax reform done, how are you going to get trade proposals done? Shouldn't we be looking at this and throwing up our hands and saying, well wait until November, 2016.
The segment concluded with Todd obnoxiously accusing the GOP of adding to Congressional gridlock by not wanting to truly govern:
It seems like nobody wants to be the adult in the room then. I understand you're criticizing the president but it’s not as if you guys are acting like the adults in the room right now either.
See relevant transcript below.
NBC’s Meet the Press
March 2, 2015
CHUCK TODD: I’m joined by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Valley of death, some Republicans in your conference not happy with other Republicans. Congressman, let me ask you this. This is what you said in October. “If you have a cliff, it takes attention away. Why put cliffs up that hold us back from doing bigger policy?” That was you October 2014. This immigration dispute in the funding of Homeland Security was a cliff that the Republicans chose to create, and in this case as far as making the protest over the immigration policy a part of Homeland Security, was it not?
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TODD: But you guys chose to use DHS funding as your way to fund the president’s action. There is a lawsuit. The lawsuit is moving forward. It’s very likely the courts are going to say this has to go to the Supreme Court before the president can even decide to do this. So, again, you know, you chose to use DHS funding as a way to protest. Was that the wrong decision?MCCARTHY: No, no. We chose an action. Remember who did this. The president chose to use an authority when he said 22 separate times he didn't have the authority to do.
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TODD: Do you have an issue inside your conference of conservatives? Here is what Devin Nunes, California Republican, said this morning in the L.A. Times. “I prefer to be in the arena voting than trying to placate a small group of phony conservative members who have no credible policy proposals and no political strategy to stop Obama’s lawlessness.” What do you say to that?MCCARTHY: We have difference of opinion in strategy and tactics but in principle we are united. We’re united in the principle there is a right way and wrong way to legislate. Unfortunately, the president chose the wrong way. And when the highest court in the land tells you you overstepped your bounds, that means there is a problem.
TODD: Is it fair to say that legislating for the rest of this year, this is sort of the climate. If Senate Republicans and House Republicans can't agree on a way forward on DHS funding and you guys have control of both houses, how are you going to get tax reform done, how are you going to get trade proposals done? Shouldn't we be looking at this and throwing up our hands and saying, well wait until November, 2016.
MCCARTHY: No, no. Winston Churchill, who’s from England but also his mother was an American, he always said you can count on Americans to do what's right after they exhausted every other option. That was Friday so I have high hopes for America.
TODD: You're setting a very low bar of expectations at this point. Is that what you're saying?
MCCARTHY: No, look, we're committed to doing trade, tax reform, infrastructure. All we need is someone that wants to work with us. We'll work with anybody that wants to work with us. We just find administration -- he’s offered four times as many veto threats as bills that he’s signed. He has a veto threat where he just stopped 40,000 jobs in America. He’d veto charitable giving to food banks.
TODD: Here is the thing. It seems like nobody wants to be the adult in the room then. I understand you're criticizing the president but it’s not as if you guys are acting like the adults in the room right now either.
MCCARTHY: Could we have done better Friday, yes? And will we? Yes, we will. But we took up legislation five weeks ago so we did not have a cliff. If there is somebody that’s not being an adult, it is the Democrats that are trying to use an advantage to a rule to not let the majority govern in the Senate. I can work with anybody. Homeland Security did not shut down. We say let's go to conference. We're ready to get the job done.
