Sen. Mike Lee said Sunday he doesn't see his fellow Republicans shutting down the government over illegal immigration, but he left the "shutdown" door open on the effort to repeal Obamacare.
Appearing on
"Face the Nation" on Sunday, Lee told host Bob Schieffer there will not be a shutdown if President Barack Obama follows through on his promise to grant amnesty to up to 5 million illegal immigrants by signing an executive order.
The Utah Republican noted that 74 percent of those who voted in the November 4 midterms opposed Obama taking unilateral action.
"Even if he doesn't respect elections, he at least needs to respect the rule of law," Lee said. "Ours is not a government-of-one, and he doesn't have the legislative power."
But when the discussion turned to Republican plans to repeal Obama's namesake healthcare legislation, Lee hinted that a shutdown might be on the table.
"I do think that a vote on full repeal is likely, possibly on budget reconciliation," Lee said. It was Lee's friend and fellow member of the tea party wing of the GOP, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who led efforts to tie funding for Obamacare to a continuing resolution on the budget in October 2013.
The inability to get a CR passed with Obamacare tied to it resulted in a partial government shutdown in which the public mostly blamed Republicans. But the GOP, fresh off its recent routs in Congress, statehouses and governor's mansions, now believes it has stronger legs in the Obamacare battle.
Lee admitted his party doesn't have the votes to override and Obama veto, but he said the president will have to answer to a public who doesn't want a healthcare law that is raising costs imposed on it.
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