US President Donald Trump on Friday ignited 11th-hour confusion over US Republican efforts to push immigration legislation through the US House of Representatives when he said that he would not sign a “moderate” package.
However, the White House later walked back the comments, formally endorsing the measure and saying that Trump had been confused.
The campaign-season tumult erupted as Republican leaders put finishing touches on a pair of bills: A hard-right proposal and a middle-ground plan negotiated by the party’s conservative and moderate wings, with White House input.
Only the compromise bill would open a door to citizenship for young immigrants taken to the US illegally as children, and reduce the separation of children from their parents when families are detained crossing the border — a practice that has drawn bipartisan condemnation over the past few days.
“I’m looking at both of them,” Trump said when asked about the proposals during an impromptu interview on Fox & Friends. “I certainly wouldn’t sign the more moderate one.”
The comment prompted widespread confusion on the Hill.
Earlier this week, House Speaker Paul Ryan told his colleagues that Trump supported the middle-ground package, and White House aide Stephen Miller, an immigration hard-liner who has been accused of trying to sabotage immigration deals in the past, told conservative lawmakers at a closed-door meeting that the president backed that plan.
However, a senior White House official later said Trump had misspoken and believed his Fox interviewer was asking about an effort by moderate Republicans — abandoned for now — that would have forced votes on a handful of bills and likely led to House passage of liberal-leaning versions party leaders oppose.
The official, who was not authorized to discuss internal conversations by name, spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The interviewer had specifically asked whether Trump supported a conservative bill penned by US Representative Bob Goodlatte or “something more moderate,” and asked whether he would sign “either one.”
The White House later put out a statement formally endorsing the measure.
“The president fully supports both the Goodlatte bill and the House leadership bill,” White House spokesman Raj Shah said.
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
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