McConnell to Democrats: ‘The time for refusal has passed’

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday ramped up the pressure on Democrats, three days ahead of a potential shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“For the moment, the Senate is focused on overcoming another extreme idea: the Senate Democrats’ Homeland Security filibuster,” the Kentucky Republican said from the Senate floor.

{mosads}Democrats have repeatedly blocked a House-passed bill that would fund the DHS but reverse President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, instead demanding a bill funding the department without any other provisions.

In what could be a way out of the legislative stalemate, McConnell on Tuesday fast-tracked a separate immigration bill focused on Obama’s most recent executive actions. The Senate is expected to vote to take up that proposal Friday. He has also offered to take up a “clean” bill to fund the DHS through Sept. 30.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday that he wouldn’t back McConnell’s plan for “clean” DHS bill until Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) signs off on it.

Boehner, for his part, on Wednesday said he is waiting for the Senate to pass a DHS bill and declined to give a position on McConnell’s new proposal.

Conservative Senate Republicans have criticized McConnell’s plan to separate the DHS bill from the immigration fight. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called the plan “a mistake,” and a prominent conservative group has derided it as a vote for “amnesty.”

Given that some Senate Democrats have voiced concerns about Obama’s actions, McConnell said the separate immigration bill would give Democrats a chance to “prove they’re serious.”

“Many Senate Democrats led their constituents to believe they’d do something. … We’ve since heard excuses for the Democrats’ refusal to do so,” McConnell said. “But the time for refusal has passed.”

But it’s unclear if Democrats who were previously critical of the president’s actions will back reversing the president’s immigration order. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said Tuesday that he wouldn’t vote for the proposal and called for comprehensive immigration reform.