House GOP Delays Recess, Scrambles for Border Bill

Tea Party forced vote postponement today ahead of summer break
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 31, 2014 1:32 PM CDT
Updated Jul 31, 2014 6:25 PM CDT
House Yanks GOP Border Bill
Members of the House of Representatives head for the door on Capitol Hill Thursday.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The House today abandoned a vote on $659 million legislation to address the immigration crisis after another Tea Party revolt. John Boehner pulled the measure from the floor at the last minute, knowing he didn't have enough votes. The speaker, however, then took the unusual step of delaying Congress' summer recess, which had been scheduled to begin tomorrow. House Republicans agreed to meet again in the morning to see if they could find a bill that could pass. And all of this transpired on day one for Boehner's new leadership team, sans Eric Cantor.

Conservatives such as Ted Cruz balked at the House plan because they say it didn't deal with the problem of kids from Central America showing up at the border, reports the Washington Post. They're also reluctant to give President Obama any money for a problem they believed to be of his own making. Politico's take: "The political impact of this decision is not clear, but if the House doesn’t vote, Democrats will be able to say that the GOP left Washington for an entire month without passing legislation to address the influx of migrants." (Click for more on Cantor's final address to the House.)

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