Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday that he had urged President Barack Obama not to take executive action on immigration — but later backed down and instead slammed House Republicans for their inaction on reform legislation.
"The president has said he's going to do the executive action," the Nevada Democrat said on Capitol Hill,
The Huffington Post reports. "The question is when he can do it. It's up to him.
"I'd like to get the finances of this country out of the way before he does it."
Reid said that he discussed his position with Obama, but that ultimately "it's up to him."
Republicans are outraged that Obama would announce executive actions that could
grant work permits to as many as 5 million illegals as early as next week. Many are urging that Congress use the budget process to stop any funding for such actions.
The federal government is financed through Dec. 11.
But later Thursday — in a statement posted on Huffington Post at 4:45 p.m. — Reid backed Obama's plans and attacked GOP legislators.
"I strongly support the president’s use of his well-established authority to provide relief to families who continue to suffer under our broken immigration system," Reid said. "The president can and should act to provide this relief. Immigrant communities cannot wait any longer for House Republicans to act.
"In recent days it has become increasingly clear that a small but vocal minority of Republicans are looking for an excuse to derail what has been a productive, bipartisan process of drafting a year-long funding bill to keep the government open," Reid added. "It is incumbent on responsible leaders within the Republican Party to work with Democrats and complete the business of keeping the government open in the coming weeks, regardless of when the president acts to provide relief to families."
Reid will be replaced as majority leader in January by Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican, after GOP's sweep of both houses of Congress in last week's elections.