Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), a leader of the group, said there is a “general agreement” among the group to protect their hard-won compromise.
“We haven’t worked out the specifics, but we all know there will be amendments that could be very destructive to the core of the bill, and we’re going to have to fight them off in a bipartisan way from both the left and the right,” Schumer said.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) — who is key to luring and keeping conservative support — however, remains a wild card.
With his eyes on the legislative process and 2016 presidential politics, he will face a difficult choice. He will have to decide whether to join fellow conservatives — such as potential presidential rivals Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ted Cruz of Texas — or stick with the bipartisan group.
Rubio refused to comment when asked if he would be willing to fend off controversial amendments when the bill starts moving.
“I have nothing to add on immigration today,” Rubio said in an interview Wednesday. “I will have a lot more to say in the next few days.”
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