Free Republic

U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent is among 14 House Republicans who have publicly said they would vote for a “clean” continuing resolution—not tied to defunding Obamacare—and he says there are plenty more. Dent, appearing Monday on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,” said that members have told him privately they would vote for a “clean CR” if it comes up for a vote. A total of 217 representatives are needed to pass the resolution. Other reports show 20 or more Republicans promising to vote for a clean continuing resolution. …

Republican Congressman Bob Goodlatte, chair of the House Judiciary Committee overseeing immigration, said he expected Congress to pursue reform legislation despite a tight schedule featuring debates over Syria, health care, and the debt limit. Those and other issues “should not deter us from getting to [immigration] as soon as possible,” Goodlatte said in an appearance on WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi Show on Tuesday. Goodlatte said he expected votes soon, perhaps in October, on a series of smaller House bills on border security, internal enforcement, guest workers, and high-tech visas. “Those bills are ready to go to the floor of the House...

Reid is talking about calling for cloture this weekend. They want to get it voted on and out...while they can! Keep the pressure up!!

Twelve Republicans voted against John Boehner’s second term as speaker Thursday, making for a very tense final few minutes of the vote. At one point, in fact, the number either voting for someone else or not voting reached into the high teens, raising the possibility that Boehner wouldn’t secure a majority on the first ballot. Eventually, a few of those who hadn’t voted — including Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) — cast their ballots for Boehner. Boehner won with 220 votes — six more than the 214 votes he needed. (A speaker needs only a majority of the actual votes cast,...

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) warned Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) would face a conference revolt that could threaten his Speakership if he allows a House vote on the immigration bill presently being debated in the Senate. Conservatives have been pressuring Boehner to adhere to the unwritten “Hastert Rule” — named after former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) — that says no bill should come to the House floor unless it has the backing of a majority of a chamber's majority party. Rohrabacher said if Boehner moves forward with a vote on immigration reform without a Republican majority, it would be a “betrayal”...

A rump caucus of renegade Republicans, backed by well-heeled outside conservative groups, are pushing to change internal House GOP rules to prohibit the party leadership from bringing legislation to the floor that does not have “majority-of-the-majority” support. -snip- “I don’t intend to bring an immigration bill to the floor that violates what I and what my members of my party, what our principles are,” Boehner told reporters late last week. “And so I continue to believe that you’ll see strong bipartisan majorities for bills that we bring to the floor.” To conservatives, that statement leaves Boehner a lot of wiggle...

House Speaker John Boehner is not going to bring a comprehensive immigration-reform plan to the floor if a majority of Republicans don't support it, sources familiar with his plans said. "No way in hell," is how several described the chances of the speaker acting on such a proposal without a majority of his majority behind him. Boehner, R-Ohio, does not view immigration in the same vein as the fiscal cliff last December, when he backed a bill that protected most Americans from a tax increase even though less than half of the GOP lawmakers were with him, said multiple sources,...

This is exactly what you want to hear with bills on gun control and immigration in the pipeline. Dude, I’m nervous. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) signaled Thursday that he may continue to bypass a House Republican rule [i.e. the "Hastert Rule"] that has required any legislation being voted upon to have the support of a majority of the GOP conference… He said at a news conference Thursday that he will continue to try and follow it in spirit, but also suggested he might well violate it for upcoming votes on guns, immigration and the budget. “Listen: It was never...