Obama had ‘no choice’ but to act, Durbin says

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Sunday defended President Obama’s executive orders on immigration, saying that the president had “no choice” but to act because Congress wouldn’t send him a bill.

{mosads}Durbin said on CBS’s “Face The Nation” that Republicans would be mistaken to shut down the government in response to the president’s executive actions.

“I believe that the Republicans on Capitol Hill learned a lesson when Senator Ted Cruz of Texas shut down the government over the Affordable Care Act,” Durbin said. “It was a political disaster, which they should never repeat.”

Last week, Obama announced sweeping immigration executive orders that allow for undocumented workers to apply for delayed deportation and instructs authorities to only target deportation for those with criminal records.

Republicans have lambasted the policies.

Durbin said that “there is an overwhelming majority within the Senate Democratic Caucus for what the president is doing.”

“He had no choice,” Durbin said. “I’ve listened to the Republican response to the president’s executive action. It is clear that they can complain, they can threaten, they can talk about lawsuits, cutting off funding, shutting down the government, in the extreme, even impeachment. But the real question is: Can they govern? Can they govern?”

Durbin noted that the Senate passed a bipartisan immigration bill that the House rejected.

“They’ve never called the bill, they’ve never had a hearing on the bill, they’ve never taken up any part of it,” Durbin said. “And now, they complain because the president has stepped in and said, ‘We need accountability when it comes to immigration.’ “