McConnell: Obama playing politics with immigration WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Mitch McConnell, the incoming Senate majority leader, accused President Obama of playing politics with immigration Thursday. Speaking on the Senate floor hours before the president's scheduled speech on halting deportations for many undocumented immigrants, McConnell, R-Ky., said "slapping the term 'immigration reform' on something doesn't mean it's actually immigration reform." "And just as with Obamacare, the action the president is proposing isn't about solutions," he said. It isn't about compassion. It seems to be about what a political party thinks would make for good politics. A CNN poll found that 48 percent of respondents disapprove of Obama's planned executive action and only 38 percent approved. But close to 60 percent said immigrants in the United States illegally should have a pathway to citizenship. Support was even higher -- 74 percent -- for a bill approved by the Senate last year. The bill, which stalled in the House, would have required immigrants to pay fines and back taxes and go through a background check before becoming eligible to seek citizenship. Other Republicans joined McConnell in denouncing Obama's plan. Sen. Tom Cornyn of Texas called Obama's executive action "unconstitutional and illegal" Wednesday and Rep. Steve King of Iowa said the president is "throwing the country into crisis." While Republicans promised to stop the president, what action they would take was unclear. "It doesn't make a lot of sense to play with shutting down the government over a particular issue, if you disagree with the president," said Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma.