Tennessee Congressman Considers Shutdown To Stop Obama’s ‘Amnesty’

Rep. John Duncan says he’s willing to accept a government shutdown to block President Obama’s immigration action. Credit: Rep. John Duncan’s Office

Tennessee Congressman John Duncan says he’s willing to accept a government shutdown in order to block President Obama’s executive order on immigration, an action Duncan says is tantamount to amnesty.

Obama’s executive action would allow up to five million undocumented immigrants to stay in the U.S. without the fear of deportation. There are nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants in the country.

Duncan and other Republicans are considering linking the executive action to the next federal spending bill. By doing so, they could shut down the government — similar to the GOP-fueled 16-day shutdown that occurred last October over defunding the Affordable Care Act.

“If he’s not willing to work with us, then we don’t have any other choice,” Duncan said on Tuesday. “We can’t just roll over and play dead.”

Chagrined by Obama’s bypassing of Congress on the immigration action, Duncan said it shows that the president has become more partisan.

“He’s become an extremist to the left, and we can’t just sit back and accept that,” Duncan said. “If [a shutdown] causes us to look bad, it’s a misimpression on whoever thinks that, because all the Republicans would like to work out some kind of compromise. But if the president is totally unwilling to compromise, then, at some point, it will become clear to the American people that it’s not Republicans that are shutting it down, it’s President Obama.”

Tennessee Rep. Diane Black, meanwhile, says forcing a government shutdown by not finding accord before the Dec. 11 deadline is not the answer. She says there are other ways to stop an executive order.

When asked about the government shutdown, Rep. Marsha Blackburn says she’s taking a wait-and-see approach. But when asked about the president skipping Congress on the immigration move, Blackburn took an opportunity to turn a slogan: “For Christmas, I hope someone gives him a Constitution and time to read it.”

Reporter Matt Laslo in Washington contributed to this report.