A Republican-controlled Senate will vanquish gridlock and get things done, according to Mitt Romney. Immigration reform will be at the top of the list.
That prediction came in an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.” The two-time Republican presidential candidate was more conservative than Kentucky Senator Rand Paul in asserting GOP victory in Tuesday’s midterms, but said that it was the “last chance” for voters to express frustration with President Barack Obama and his Democratic Party.
“This is really the last chance for Americans to pass judgment on President Obama,” Romney told host Chris Wallace on Sunday morning. And Democrats nationwide were becoming “desperate” and making “weaker and weaker” claims.
But regardless of whether his party takes control, the former Massachusetts governor did say that the GOP would have more cachet in policy decisions after Tuesday.
“That’s going to happen,” he said of immigration reform. “You’re going to see a bill actually reach the desk of the president if we finally have someone besides Harry Reid sitting in the Senate.”
He said that such a bill would include “a provision, first of all, to secure the border.”
“Second of all,” Romney continued, “to deal with those who come here illegally. And, third, to make sure our immigration policies are more open and transparent.”
According to Romney, immigration legislation will only be one of the bills a Republican Congress will send down Pennsylvania to the White House.
“Some he will sign, some he won’t sign,” Romney said. “But I think we’ll finally see who is the party of no.”
The Republican standard-bearer in the 2012 presidential campaign has become a sought-after midterm surrogate for many of his party’s candidates. The rehabilitated image comes largely thanks to public dissatisfaction with Obama and Washington politics in general. But he dismissed talk of a third run for the White House in 2016.
For Romney, immigration will not be the only policy area set for a boost with a Republican-dominated Senate. He also pointed to trade promotion authority, which the White House backs but has met some opposition from congressional Democrats.
[Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore]