Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said there could be enough Democratic support in the Senate to get a measure putting a “pause” on President Obama’s Syrian refugee plans to Mr. Obama’s desk.
“It doesn’t surprise me that three dozen Democrats broke from [their] party, because the president has taken an extreme position on this,” Mr. Rubio said on Thursday’s “The Kelly File” on Fox News.
On Thursday, the U.S. House voted 289-137 to pass a measure that would require the heads of the FBI, Homeland Security and the intelligence community to sign off on every refugee — something the White House said was “untenable.” Forty-seven Democrats backed the bill.
“I think we can get the Democrats — at least four, five, six, seven, eight Democrats to come on board,” said Mr. Rubio, a 2016 GOP presidential candidate. “It’s clear where the American people are, and that’s what we’re going to need, and then of course we need a veto-proof majority.”
Indeed, Mr. Obama has already threatened to veto the House-passed legislation. If all 54 Republican senators voted for the measure, they would need six crossover Democrats to overcome a filibuster and still more to override a veto, which requires a two-thirds vote in both Houses.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, said Senate Democrats would try to block such a measure.
SEE ALSO: House defies Obama, votes to ‘pause’ Syrian refugees
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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