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NATION/WORLD Saturday, May 19, 2018 East Oregonian Page 9A Conservative revolt over immigration sinks farm bill WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republican lead- ers suffered an embarrassing setback Friday when conser- vatives scuttled an ambitious farm bill, part of a high- stakes power play as they once again exert their over- sized sway in the House. In this case, conserva- tives in the House Free- dom Caucus wanted to slow the momentum of bipar- tisan legislation to help young “Dreamers.” Repub- lican moderates are gaining ground with their immigra- tion effort and conservatives don’t like the deals taking shape. By withholding their votes on the farm bill, they flexed their political muscle to doom both. Not even a tweet from President Donald Trump supporting the farm bill could save it from the chaos Friday. It was defeated, 213- 198. Some 30 Republicans joined with every chamber Democrat in opposition. The vote was a blow to GOP leaders, exposing the power struggle underway as leaders jockey to replace Speaker Paul Ryan, who is not seeking re-election. It disrupts GOP efforts to por- tray party unity ahead of the midterm election and to rack up legislative wins to moti- vate voters to the polls to keep their majority. Trump is “disappointed in the result of today’s vote” and “hopes the House can resolve any remaining issues,” said Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters. The outcome also shelves for now the big, five-year farm bill, a top GOP priority because it combines stricter work and job training requirements for food stamp recipients — long pushed by Ryan as part of his safety net cuts — with a renewal of farm subsidies popular in GOP-leaning farm country. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., a veteran campaign strat- egist, said it’s a “mistake” for conservatives to play the farm and immigration bills against each other. “You don’t hold one thing hostage for something that’s totally Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md. said the dys- function under the Republi- can majority in Congress is another reason why voters in November “are going to give us their jobs.” The farm bill’s rejection scrambled the prospects for what had seemed to be an agreement over the immi- gration standoff. House Republicans worked into the night try- ing to negotiate a resolution and some thought they had a reached a deal. It would have allowed rival immigra- tion bills to proceed to the floor by late June. One bill from hard-liners would reduce legal immi- gration and open the door to Trump’s border wall with Mexico. A second, being negotiated with the White House, GOP leaders and Democrats, would be aimed at and bolstering border security and helping young “Dreamer” immigrants — those who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children — to remain permanently in AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, smiles before the vote on the House farm bill that failed to pass, at the Capitol in Washington on Friday. different,” he said. Conservatives, though, have gained clout in the House by withholding their block of some 30 votes to exert their sway on legisla- tion. That strategy is only expected to escalate as they jockey for promotions up the leadership ladder once Ryan retires. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a leader of the House Free- dom Caucus who has expressed an interest in run- ning for House speaker, said some conservatives had concerns over the farm bill, largely because of its spend- ing, but “my main focus was making sure we do immigra- tion policy right.” Democrats are strongly opposed to the farm bill, saying the stricter work and job training rules are poorly designed and would drive 2 million people off food stamps. They took a victory lap after the vote. the U.S. The accord was aimed at heading off a drive by moderates who are just five Republican signatures short on a petition to force votes on a bipartisan immigration bill Democrats would likely support. The deputy whip, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., said it was only when he arrived on the floor Friday that he realized the farm bill would come up short. He said the conservative flank is “trying to extract some- thing” more on immigration. But Rep. Mark Mead- ows, R-N.C., the head of the Freedom Caucus, told reporters there was “no deal” on immigration. He downplayed the setback on the farm bill, saying “it’s not a fatal blow. It’s just a reorganizing.” The scramble will likely drive more Republicans to sign on to the renegade effort to push the compro- mise immigration bill to a floor vote over the objection of party leaders. Trump nominates acting VA secretary Wilkie for job By ZEKE MILLER, HOPE YEN AND DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON — In a surprise announcement that caught the candidate off-guard, President Don- ald Trump said Friday he’ll nominate acting Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie to permanently lead the beleaguered department. Trump spilled the news about Wilkie at a White House event on prison reform as he introduced Cab- inet members in attendance. When Trump got to Wilkie, he said, “I’ll be informing him in a little while — he doesn’t know this yet — that we’re going to be putting his name up for nomination to be secretary.” Trump added, “I’m sorry that I ruined the surprise.” The president had already appeared impressed with Wilkie, saying publicly last month that he’s been doing a “great job” at VA. On Friday, Trump upped his assessment of Wilkie’s job performance to “incredible job.” Wilkie has led the VA since Trump fired David Shulkin in March amid an ethics scandal and mount- ing rebellion within the agency. Trump then turned to Ronny Jackson, the Navy doctor who had been his per- sonal physician, but Jack- son abruptly withdrew last month amid allegations about his professionalism. Wilkie, 55, is a former Pentagon undersecretary for personnel and readiness who oversaw a new policy aimed at stemming harassment in the military after an online nude-photo sharing scandal rocked the Marine Corps. The Senate confirmed him unanimously for the post. At the VA, Wilkie has AP Photo/Susan Walsh President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is nominating Acting Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie to perma- nently lead the Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs. sought to rebuild morale at a department beset with inner turmoil and rebellion over Trump’s push to expand access to private care. On Thursday, he announced a major $10 billion con- tract with Cerner Corp. to overhaul electronic health records for millions of vet- erans, a 10-year project that aims to improve mental health care and ease access to private providers. Wilkie’s selection reflects Trump’s desire to have a steady hand leading the gov- ernment’s second-largest department following the abrupt withdrawal by Jack- son, who had never man- aged a large workforce. The Pentagon is the govern- ment’s largest department, with more than 700,000 employees. Veterans groups expressed support for the nomination. Garry Augustine, exec- utive director of Disabled American Veterans’ Wash- ington headquarters, said he considered it a “good sign” that Wilkie seemed recep- tive to hearing from veter- ans’ service organizations. ENERGY COSTS TOO HIGH? TRY LOOKING AT IT IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT. Want to lower your energy costs? When you update lighting and other equipment, you can see the difference instantly and recoup your investment in no time. Talk to a qualified trade ally to learn about Energy Trust of Oregon cash incentives for all kinds of energy-saving solutions. + Get more from your energy. Visit www.energytrust.org/mybusiness or call us at 1.866.368.7878. Serving customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural and Cascade Natural Gas. 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