© Greg Nash, The Hill

Anatomy of an anti-amnesty pile-on

Right-wing social media and commentary last week was dominated by infighting and outrage over the Dignity Act, a bipartisan immigration reform bill — and it seemed to come out of nowhere.

 Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.), the designer of the compromise measure that pairs border security boosts with a new legal status for non-criminal migrants who entered before 2021, publicly sparred with critics of her legislation. Those hardline conservatives — numerous Republican members of Congress, influential commentators and conservative social media accounts — fumed for most of the last week about Republicans embracing what they deemed to be “amnesty” (which Salazar disputed). 

But the bill is not new. It was first introduced years ago, and re-introduced last year. It is nowhere near having a markup, let alone a vote, and has essentially no chance of advancing in the current Congress. It has no buy-in from leadership. 

I, and others on Capitol Hill and beyond with whom I chatted about the uproar, were left wondering: Why is this even a thing?

The episode is indicative of a frequent freak-out dynamic on the right, in which the most hardline purists take charge to beat down those in their own party seen as “squishy” on an issue.

Influencers and Republican members have posted criticisms of the Dignity Act from time to time, without it ever turning into a multi-day focus. But this time, there seems to have been just the perfect storm of an opening in the news cycle combined with pent-up frustration from Republicans over immigration enforcement. 

What seemed to have sparked the uproar this time was cosponsor Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) advocating for the bill in a weekend Fox News appearance. Host Brian Kilmeade commented that he thought Trump could be open to the bill, saying the president had told him he would be interested in “long-term work visas” for migrants.

A few conservative accounts picked up on the interview. Conservative influencer Mila Joy had posted the exact same language slamming “RINOs in Congress” who support the Dignity Act multiple times over the last year, but it really got traction last week after the Lawler interview. A wave of influencers followed.

The uproar came at a time when Congress was out of session, and accelerated after a ceasefire was announced with Iran on Tuesday night, and there was a lull in the news cycle.

And taking aim at the Dignity Act is a way for conservatives who have pent-up frustration over the Trump administration delivering on mass deportations and how an off-ramp for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown is being handled to blow off steam without criticizing President Trump or Republican leadership directly.

Public sparring on social media between Salazar and other members like Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) kept the controversy going, as did more TV appearances.

Lawler returned to Fox on Laura Ingraham’s show for what the host said from the top would “not be a fun interview,” with the segment largely devolving into crosstalk as Ingraham repeatedly asserted Lawler was misrepresenting his own bill.

Inghram had Gill on as a guest the following night, where he argued the Dignity Act was an “unforgivable political betrayal” of those who voted for Trump.

The big question: Is the uproar leading to political consequences for the bill’s cosponsors, or dimming prospects for the bill?

Well, the office of one cosponsor told me that while there was an uptick in constituent interactions over the Dignity Act due to the social media backlash, it was much lower than inquiries about the Iran war and DHS funding, and lower than a typical uptick that coincides with top news items.

There might be some more action on the issue with lawmakers back in town this week. Salazar told me in an interview that she plans to reach out to Gill directly to talk to him about the legislation, and she is having a press conference with the National Association of Manufacturers in support of the bill later this week.

And underlying tension between moderate Republicans aiming to combat a decline in support for the GOP among the Hispanic and Latino and hard-line immigration restrictionists is not going away any time soon. 

Further reading on the details: Sudden GOP infighting explodes over bipartisan immigration reform bill, by me and my colleague Rebecca Beitsch… Why MAGA has a problem with Maria, by Ali Biano in Politico…

Welcome to The Movement, a new weekly newsletter looking at the influences and debates on the right in Washington. I'm Emily Brooks, House leadership reporter at The Hill. Tell me what’s on your radar: ebrooks@thehill.com.

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A story in the Washington Examiner last week sent a jolt through the anti-abortion movement: “Mike Johnson to skip defunding Planned Parenthood in next party-line bill.” 

The Speaker, it said, plans to leave out a provision of the next party-line budget reconciliation bill to renew a ban on Medicaid dollars going to groups like Planned Parenthood before it expires on July 4.

The report shocked many in the “pro-life” advocacy sphere, given Johnson’s long record of aggressively pushing for anti-abortion policies.

Johnson’s office was quite frustrated by the story, thinking the angle misrepresented the overall dynamic in Congress, including by singling out the Speaker over a bill that will originate in the Senate.

The next reconciliation bill will be used to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol to end the record-long Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown — a last-resort measure after failing to find agreement with Democrats who refuse to vote to fund DHS without reforms. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and other GOP leaders want to keep the bill very limited so Republicans in Congress can swiftly move it through the process to get to Trump’s desk by June 1. Priorities that were set for a potential second reconciliation bill are being pushed to a potential third bill in the fall, leaders have said. Plus, the bill is being crafted in the Senate, not in the House. Some of those details were in the story.

At least one anti-abortion group reached out to Johnson’s office about the report and felt satisfied by Johnson’s support for extending the provision.

John Mize, CEO of Americans United for Life, told me in a statement: "Speaker Johnson championed defunding abortion providers last year, and his team relayed to us that his support has not changed for a second reconciliation. Attempts to sow discord and prevent extended defunding from being included must be put aside. The House GOP must fall in line behind the Speaker's steady, pro-life leadership and extend federal defunding before it expires this summer."

But with a third reconciliation bill not being set until the fall, past the July 4 deadline — if it happens at all — the episode could be an early indication of lobbying pressure that will be put on Republicans to stick other priorities into the ICE-Border Patrol reconciliation bill.

President Trump solidified his break-up with allies-turned-critics in the podcast world last week, going after Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones, who have all criticized him on Iran — saying they had “Low IQs,” were “stupid people,” and “Third Rate Podcasters.”

Carlson, Trump said, “was a broken man when he got fired from Fox.” Trump said he hopes French First Lady Brigitte Macron wins money over Candace’s claims she’s a man. And he said Jones deserved to lose his fortune over his false Sandy Hook conspiracy theories.

How are the podcasters responding? 

Carlson started selling hats that say “Low IQ” and published a newsletter insinuating that Trump might be being blackmailed by Israel.

Owens started selling merch with quotes from Trump’s post — including a mug and a sweatshirt that said “Actually, to me, the First ‘Lady’ of France is a far more beautiful woman than Candace” — and made her next show an “open letter” to Trump relaying criticisms of Trump’s foreign policy from his former supporters, and asserting he belongs to the “Epstein class.”

Jones said he was now going “scorched earth" on Trump. “You should be kissing my a–. Instead you s— all over me and rub it in …. I’m not looking for a fight, but if you want one you came to the right place.”

Related: MAGA media’s great unraveling, by Zachary Basu in Axios.

1. STUTZMAN GOES AFTER GREENE

Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.), a Freedom Caucus member, publicly slammed former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) for calling for the 25th Amendment to be used against Trump over his threat against Iran. Stutzman said Greene is starting to sound like Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) or Tucker Carlson. Stutzman told me of his decision to speak up: “These folks are off the rails … It's definitely affecting young people. I hear that and see that … They're focused strictly on Israel more than they are focused on other countries that are killing Christians and or invading other countries as well.”

2. CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVES BALK AT TRUMP POST

President Trump’s Truth Social post with an image seeming to depict him as Jesus sent a jolt through the Christian conservative sphere, with commentators like Riley Gaines and Michael Knwoles balking at the post. Trump later took down the post, and told reporters he thought it depicted him as a doctor “and had to do with the Red Cross.” Trump also later told CBS: “I didn’t listen to Riley Gaines. I’m not a big fan of Riley, actually.”

3. PAUL DANS ENDS PRIMARY BID

Paul Dans, who was a key leader of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 and was briefly in the Office of Personnel Management in Trump’s first term, ended his long-shot bid to primary Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Friday. Dans was in Washington last week, and had attended a party for The American Conservative magazine.

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