Last Friday, the House of Representatives voted 198-213 to reject HR 2, the 2018 Farm Bill, on the House floor.  The bill was stalled by unanimous opposition from Democrats and the House Freedom Caucus, the conservative wing of the House Republican caucus.  Immediately after the vote, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) passed a motion to recommit HR 2, granting the House a second chance to vote on final passage. 

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) announced a plan to hold the second vote to pass HR 2 on June 22, 2018.  Representative Scalise’s plan was endorsed by House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-North Carolina), on condition that the House will first hold a vote on the Goodlatte-McCaul immigration bill.

Last week Representative Meadows attempted to use Farm Bill votes as leverage to force Speaker Ryan to hold a vote on the Goodlatte-McCaul proposal, but a deal was never made, and the Farm Bill and Freedom Caucus members voted to reject the bill on the House floor. Goodlatte-McCaul is a conservative immigration proposal that pairs border wall funding with a process for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals to obtain three-year renewals of work permits.  Republican Leadership refused to offer Meadows a vote on Goodlatte-McCaul in an effort to appease moderate Republicans who oppose the proposal.

Representative Jeff Denham (R-Stanislaus) is urging moderate Republicans to sign a discharge petition that would force a floor vote on four immigration alternatives to Goodlatte-McCaul.  If Denham’s discharge petition receives 218 signatures, it would carve a path for moderate Republicans to pair with moderate Democrats and move forward on immigration reform without conservatives.  This procedure would prevent Republican Leadership from bringing Goodlatte-McCaul to a vote on the floor, and undermine Speaker Ryan’s leverage for Farm Bill negotiations with the Freedom Caucus.