President Donald Trump "misunderstood the question" he was asked on Fox News Friday morning about a compromise on immigration between centrist and conservative Republicans, the White House said Friday afternoon.
Last Tuesday, House Republican leaders announced that a vote on a pair of immigration bills, one favored by conservatives and a compromise bill that is still being negotiated, will take place next week. Trump was asked on "Fox and Friends" about the bills on Friday morning.
"I certainly wouldn't sign the more moderate one," Trump said. "I need a bill that gives this country tremendous border security. I have to have that."
Republican leaders seemed surprised by the statement, with Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., telling reporters: "We want to get clarity on the president's position on this bill. Republicans are not going to take on immigration without the support and endorsement of President Trump."
According to the White House, Trump was thinking of the discharge petition that centrist Republicans used to try and force a vote on four immigration bills, including one that would protect those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
"Yes, we fully support both the Goodlatte bill and the Leadership bill. The President misunderstood the question this morning on Fox News," an unnamed White House official told The Hill in an email. "He was commenting on the discharge petition/Dreamers bill — not the new package. He would 100 percent sign either Goodlatte or the other bill."
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