Republican strategist Karl Rove suggested that he would like Congress to pass amnesty legislation during the lame-duck session of Congress, but he also said that immigration reform could get done "early next year."President Barack Obama said that there were only "two to three months" left to pass amnesty legislation this year, but the CEOs of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers said this week that they hoped amnesty legislation could be the "final act" of the lame-duck session. Rove has courted pro-amnesty business executives for donations to his political action groups.
"The Speaker wants to get this thing done, but he wants to get it done in a way that unites the country," Rove said on Hugh Hewitt's radio show on Friday. "So my suspicion is we’ve got a better chance of getting comprehensive immigration reform done in the aftermath of the election or early next year." In fact, Rove expressed a preference "to get it done in the aftermath of the election."
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and other GOP leaders declared on Wednesday that Senate Republicans would "absolutely" try to pass amnesty legislation if Republicans win back control of the upper chamber next year.
Rove, while a White House adviser for President George W. Bush, helped Bush push for comprehensive immigration reform--a failed attempt that saw the conservative base revolt.
Rove stated that Obama "did not do himself or the cause of immigration reform any good by allowing" his confidant and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett to go to Las Vegas on Thursday and say that the White House had a "commitment" from House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) to act on amnesty legislation. Boehner's office denied that such a commitment was made, and Jarrett walked back her remarks on Twitter Friday. Reported by Breitbart 15 hours ago.