Report: GOP Senators Are Holding The Line Against Biden's Amnesty Bill

NEW: Senate Republicans throw cold water on Joe Biden’s immigration plan, including the two remaining authors of the 2013 bill.

Very hard to count to 10 votes needed to break a filibuster.

“I don't think I can even count to one," says a senior GOP aide.https://t.co/Pu3A03Nehw

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) January 22, 2021

Of the 13 “gang of eight” GOP supporters, just five remain. Including two authors: Marco Rubio, who calls Biden’s plan a non-starter, and Lindsey Graham, who tells @GarrettHaake and @frankthorp that it’s “going to be a tough sell given this environment.”https://t.co/Pu3A03Nehw

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) January 22, 2021

President Joe Biden's sweeping immigration plan ran into quick resistance from key Senate Republicans, including some who championed a similar effort eight years ago.

[...] Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a key figure in the "Gang of Eight" overhaul in 2013 that passed the Senate but died in the Republican-controlled House, called [Biden's bill] a nonstarter.

"There are many issues I think we can work cooperatively with President-elect Biden, but a blanket amnesty for people who are here unlawfully isn't going to be one of them," he said in a statement Tuesday, the day before Biden was sworn in.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he doubts Biden's plan can pass, describing it as "to the left" of the 2013 legislation that he helped craft, citing fewer provisions to beef up border security.

Graham, who took on a more hard-right posture during the Trump administration, said the most likely endgame is a smaller deal centered on codifying the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which President Barack Obama set up unilaterally.

"I think probably the space in a 50-50 Senate would be some kind of DACA deal," Graham said Thursday. "Comprehensive immigration is going to be a tough sell given this environment, but doing DACA, I think, is possible."