President Barack Obama doesn't mind being called an "emperor" over his planned executive action on amnesty for illegal aliens — in fact, he views it as a "badge of honor."
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said at a Wednesday press conference, "We heard this kind of rhetoric about lawlessness from House Republicans for some time,"
The Hill reported.
"Their most recent statement referred to 'Emperor Obama.' The fact is the president is somebody who is willing to examine the law, review the law and use every element of that law to make progress for the American people and that’s a criticism the president wears with badge of honor."
The statement emphasizes the bitterness and intransigence that exist over amnesty by executive order between Obama and Republicans, who will take over both houses of Congress in January.
Obama, Business Insider reports,
is expected to announce that 4 million illegal aliens who have lived in the U.S. for five years or more and have no criminal record will be granted work permits and protected from deportation, while another million also will receive deportation protection through Obama's plans to overhaul the immigration law, including illegal aliens brought to the U.S. as children.
A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, Michael Steel, said in a prepared statement, "If 'Emperor Obama' ignores the American people and announces an amnesty plan that he himself has said over and over again exceeds his Constitutional authority, he will cement his legacy of lawlessness and ruin the chances for Congressional action on this issue
— and many others,"
Business Insider reported.
In an editorial in Politico, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said, "It is lawless. It is unconstitutional. He is defiant and angry at the American people. If he acts by executive diktat, President Obama will not be acting as a president, he will be acting as a monarch."
"We’re confident that even though Republicans object to it, that these are steps that will be fully implemented and will strengthen the economy, create jobs, strengthen our border security, strengthen our national security and do the other kinds of things that the president believes are in the best interests of the country," Earnest said.
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Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said, "Well, apparently we now have an 'Emperor of the United States.' President Obama’s immigration order would provide illegal immigrants with the exact benefits Congress has repeatedly rejected: Social Security numbers, photo IDs and work permits, which will allow them to now take jobs directly from struggling Americans in every occupation,"
Business Insider reported.
As to Republican threats of legal action over Obama's amnesty plan, "We’ll have ample opportunity to discuss legal basis for the president’s executive actions once he’s announced them," Earnest said.
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