Mark Meadows: 'We are not going to negotiate on immigration while the government is shut down'

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January 22, 2018 2:31 AM

Rep. Mark Meadows said immigration negotiations are off the table while the government remains shutdown, potentially souring any deal underway in the Senate.

House Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows said any immigration deal will not be negotiated while the government remains shut down.
Meadows said he has received assurances from House Speaker Paul Ryan that they are on the same page.
Senate Republicans and Democrats are still moving forward with potential deals to end the shutdown, with votes expected early into Monday morning.

WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Mark Meadows, who chairs the powerful conservative House Freedom Caucus, said immigration negotiations are off the table while the government remains shut down, potentially souring any deal underway in the Senate.

Meadows reportedly brokered an assurance from the House Republican leadership to move forward on the border security and immigration bill being pushed by Reps. Bob Goodlatte and Michael McCaul, a conservative piece of legislation many Democrats deemed a nonstarter.

As the government shutdown progressed late into its second day, Meadows told reporters that including immigration guarantees with any new spending bill was already in line with what President Donald Trump has been pushing.

And Meadows said House Speaker Paul Ryan assured him there is not going to be a new commitment on that front in the House.

"He’s articulated that with me. There is not any commitment that’s going to be inclusive of the House position during this shutdown," Meadows said. "And the Speaker has been very clear there. I support him in that."

"We are not going to negotiate on immigration while the government is shut down," Meadows added. "We’ve been consistent there and we were making extremely good progress. Now even with some that may have an opinion further to my right on immigration, they may have been disappointed on that, but there was the beginning of a consensus that was starting to be drawn on immigration.

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