GOP nearing end game on immigration votes

Two more Republicans and six Democrats signed their name Thursday to a discharge petition, leaving supporters just five signatures short of being able to bypass Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and force a series of votes to protect hundreds of thousands of young, undocumented immigrants currently in the U.S.

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That leaves Ryan and GOP leaders with a narrow window to negotiate an agreement between the party’s warring conservative and centrist factions over legislation to salvage the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which President Trump wants to dismantle.

But the leading proponents of the petition say they have the support locked down to reach the magic number of 218, even if the final signatures have not yet materialized. Heading into the recess Thursday morning, some centrist Republicans indicated they might endorse the petition when Congress returns if GOP leaders are unable to secure a separate DACA deal by June 7.

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