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GOP senator: Court’s action could pave way for ‘clean’ funding bill

by Rebecca Shabad - 02/23/15 6:34 PM ET

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Monday said a court’s move to temporarily halt President Obama’s immigration action could pave the way for passage of a “clean” bill funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“My hope is now that the court has ruled, that perhaps one way would be to have a clean DHS funding bill and a resolution that puts the Senate in support of the court’s ruling,” Collin told reporters before the Senate voted for a fourth time to open debate on the House-passed DHS funding bill that would reverse Obama’s immigration actions.

“I’ve always thought the judicial system was an alternative way to deal with the president’s overreach last November and now that one court has ruled to put a stay on his executive order, perhaps that frees us to move forward and get the department fully funded,” Collins added.

{mosads}Collins noted her idea is similar to the proposal she floated several weeks ago that would only defund Obama’s 2014 executive orders, but protect the 2012 order that created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that defers deportations for people who came to the United States illegally as children.

Several other GOP senators have suggested over the last week that the injunction issued by a Texas judge last week could give Republicans a way out of the funding debate.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) suggested to reporters Monday evening that Republicans could move forward by filing an amicus brief in support of the new ruling while funding DHS.

“You can also file an amicus in that just like we did in the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) case and that’s a good way to litigate that if the president acts beyond his authority as he did in the NLRB case to pursue our disapproval of his executive order, but then we need to fund DHS,” Ayotte said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), meanwhile, put a standalone bill on the calendar that would defund Obama’s immigration actions.

The Senate GOP conference is expected to huddle Tuesday afternoon to discuss how to move forward. The House, meanwhile, doesn’t return to Capitol Hill until Tuesday evening for votes.

Congress has less than five days to fund DHS and prevent a partial government shutdown.

Tags Kelly Ayotte Mitch McConnell Susan Collins