Politics

Washington Post: ‘Immigration Reform Is Dead’ After Cantor Defeat

Brendan Bordelon Contributor
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Washington Post reporter Robert Costa confirmed the conventional wisdom on Capitol Hill Thursday, saying his sources in the GOP are claiming “immigration reform is dead — totally dead” after Eric Cantor’s primary defeat.

Costa spoke Thursday morning with NBC’s Chuck Todd about Tuesday’s Virginia primary upset — which saw Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor unseated by little known tea party challenger Dave Brat — and what it might mean for immigration reform’s prospects. Brat had challenged Cantor over the congressman’s tepid support for an immigration bill.

“Are [sic] anybody in the House talking about bringing up any immigration bills though anymore?” Todd asked Costa. “Or is that totally gone?”

“Not only is it totally gone, Chuck,” Costa replied. “I was outside the Republican Study Committee in the Capitol basement yesterday afternoon, and Raul Labrador from Idaho, one of the major [Republican] forces in the House, came up to me and said ‘Costa, immigration reform is dead — totally dead. Comprehensive immigration reform is dead.'”

“I think that’s the sentiment from a lot on the right within the House,” he continued. “And they see Cantor’s defeat — whether it’s right or wrong politically — as a sign that it just — this year it’s just not able to happen. There’s not the political capital there to push it forward.”

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