Rubio Retreats: ‘We Can’t Let Homeland Security Shut Down’ over Exec Amnesty

Days after a federal judge issued an injunction against President Barack Obama’s executive amnesty, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) urged Senate Republicans to abandon their defunding efforts and pass a clean Homeland Security funding bill.

“We have to fund Homeland Security,” Rubio reportedly said on Wednesday, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We can’t let Homeland Security shut down.”

He reportedly “noted that Obama has threatened to veto any bill that would reverse his executive actions on immigration, including the measure to pay for Homeland Security” and “the Senate doesn’t have enough votes to pass the bill that ties the two issues together,” according to the outlet.

Rubio, who is weighing a potential presidential run, made his remarks in Las Vegas during his book tour.

The House passed a Homeland Security spending bill that also prohibits the federal government from funding Obama’s executive amnesty. Senate Democrats have filibustered the bill three times and will reportedly not back down next week before the Feb. 27 deadline to fund the agency.

After a federal judge issued a temporary injunction against Obama’s executive amnesty on Monday evening, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it will not accept temporary amnesty applications until the case is resolved.

Rubio, who spearheaded the Senate’s comprehensive amnesty plan and lost his early front-runner status because of it, has been critical of Obama’s executive amnesty.