Appearing on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) deflected questions about his views on immigration reform, instead speaking in broad generalities. “It is not about me,” said Boehner. “This is about allowing the House to work its will.”
“I’m not going to predict what’s going to be on the floor and what isn’t going to be on the floor. And that’s what you’re asking me to do. I can’t do that. And I don’t want to do that,” Boehner explained. “My job in this process is to facilitate a discussion and to facilitate a process, so the American people can see what we’re doing and so the members understand that we’re dealing with this in a deliberative way.”
Despite host Bob Schieffer’s repeated questions on whether Boehner supported a so-called “pathway to citizenship” for those in the United States illegally, Boehner refused to answer: “It’s not about me. It’s not about what I want. What I committed to when I became speaker was to a more open and fair process. And as difficult as this issue is, me taking a hard position for or against some of these issues will make it harder for us to get a bill… If I come out and say, ‘I’m for this and I’m for that,’ all I’m doing is making my job harder.’ My job as the leader of the House is to facilitate this conversation and this process that involves members on both sides of the aisle, involves the American people.”