Trump claims he ‘never pushed’ House Republicans to vote for hard-line immigration bill

President Trump falsely claimed on Saturday that he never urged congressional Republicans to pass a pair of immigration bills, saying that he knew all along that the measure would not win enough Democratic votes to pass in the Senate.

“I never pushed the Republicans in the House to vote for the Immigration Bill, either GOODLATTE 1 or 2, because it could never have gotten enough Democrats as long as there is the 60 vote threshold,” he tweeted. “I released many prior to the vote knowing we need more Republicans to win in Nov.”

I never pushed the Republicans in the House to vote for the Immigration Bill, either GOODLATTE 1 or 2, because it could never have gotten enough Democrats as long as there is the 60 vote threshold. I released many prior to the vote knowing we need more Republicans to win in Nov.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 30, 2018

{mosads}The claim directly contradicts a tweet from the president on Wednesday, insisting that “HOUSE REPUBLICANS SHOULD PASS THE STRONG BUT FAIR IMMIGRATION BILL, KNOWN AS GOODLATTE II,” referring to Republicans’ compromise immigration bill introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.).

HOUSE REPUBLICANS SHOULD PASS THE STRONG BUT FAIR IMMIGRATION BILL, KNOWN AS GOODLATTE II, IN THEIR AFTERNOON VOTE TODAY, EVEN THOUGH THE DEMS WON’T LET IT PASS IN THE SENATE. PASSAGE WILL SHOW THAT WE WANT STRONG BORDERS & SECURITY WHILE THE DEMS WANT OPEN BORDERS = CRIME. WIN!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2018

Hours after Trump made the plea to Republicans, the House rejected the compromise measure on immigration in a worse-than-expected 121-300 vote. Votes on the bill had been delayed twice to give Republicans more time to win support. 

The compromise bill gained fewer votes than a hard-line measure rejected by the House last week in a 193-231 vote.

Trump has repeatedly urged Senate Republicans to do away with the 60-vote minimum for blocking filibusters, arguing that until they did, Democrats would continue to block key GOP legislation.

The House could still seek to take action on narrower legislation intended to end the separation of migrant families apprehended for crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally — a practice that resulted from the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy which seeks to aggressively prosecute those who cross into the U.S. illegally.

Any measure will have to wait until lawmakers return from their July 4 recess.