House Republicans approved a measure Thursday that aims to ‎block the Obama administration from moving to shield millions from deportation, a largely symbolic legislative response to the president's new immigration policy that reflects lawmakers' limited options. 
 
 The House measure, approved on a 219-197 vote, is the first step in a two-part plan devised by GOP leadership to provide an outlet for Republican frustration over the White House plan while also preventing the issue from provoking another government funding crisis. 
 
 House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) are intent on avoiding a repeat of past fiscal brinkmanship as the GOP is set to assume full control of Congress. 
 
 The House bill, called Executive Amnesty Prevention Act, states that any attempt by the administration to exempt immigrants from deportation laws "shall be null and void and without legal effect." 
 
 Boehner said Thursday the proposal makes it clear that House Republicans "are rejecting [Obama's] unilateral actions," and urged the Senate to vote on it, too. 
 
 "To do anything less would be an act of monumental arrogance," he said. "The American people elected us to heed their will and not to bow to the whims of a White House that regards the legislative process established by the Constitution as little more than a nuisance." 
 
 White House officials have defended the president's plan, saying his executive action is legal and necessary in light of congressional inaction on the nation's immigration problem. 
 
 Conservative lawmakers mostly supported the bill by Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) but complained it will do nothing to prevent the president's plan from moving forward since Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who remains the majority leader until year's end, has vowed not to take up the bill, and the White House has threatened to veto it. 
 
 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) this week mocked such "show votes" as ineffective. 
 
 He and other conservatives are pushing for next week's government spending bill to include specific language that would restrict the Department of Homeland Security from being able to implement the plan. Lawmakers are working against a Dec. 11 deadline to approve a new spending bill and avert a shutdown. 
 
 "We will fund the operation of the federal government, but we will not allocate taxpayer dollars for lawless and illegal amnesty," Cruz said. 
 
 The conservative group Heritage Action also signaled it would rally opposition to Boehner's compromise plan to fund most of the federal government until next fall, but carve out the Homeland Security Department, which handles immigration agencies. 
 
 Under Boehner's plan, funding for Homeland Security would be extended only until early next year, giving Republicans another chance to pressure Obama on his immigration action. 
 
 In the past, such a move might have been difficult for Boehner to push through due to his often-rebellious tea-party wing. But Democrats have offered tentative support and could provide the votes needed to ensure passage. 
 
 "As we had to supply the votes last year to open up government, let us supply the votes to keep government open," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said at a news conference. "But we can't do it unless we have a bill that is worthy of our support." 
 
 Boehner also is in a more secure political position as his majority is set to grow in January. 
 
 "We worked with an awful lot of our members, and frankly, I'm pretty comfortable with where we are," he said. 
 
 Democrats nonetheless decried the Yoho proposal while defending the legality of Obama's actions, which could spare more than 4 million immigrants from the threat of deportation. 
 
 "There is strong historical precedent for the president's actions," Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) said during the floor debate. "Prior presidents were not met with such obstructionism." 
 
 Follow @mikememoli for more news out of Washington. ||||| Immigration Mitch McConnell promises forceful immigration response The GOP leader did not specify what action his Republican Senate will take next year. 
 
 Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised on Thursday morning that Congress will respond forcefully in 2015 to President Barack Obama’s imminent executive action that will defer deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants. 
 
 In a blistering speech that quoted Obama’s past statements about his limited unilateral powers on the subject of immigration, the GOP leader did not specify what action that his Republican Senate will take next year, whether it be zeroing out funding for government agencies in a spending bill, taking the White House to court or taking a confrontational stance to the president’s nominees, as suggested by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). 
 
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 But the Kentucky senator vowed there will be a forceful response from Capitol Hill once his newly minted GOP majority takes over next year. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: Obama to shield 5 million from deportation) 
 
 “He needs to understand something. If President Obama acts in defiance of the people and imposes his will on the country, Congress will act,” McConnell said ahead of a long Thanksgiving recess that begins Friday. “We’re considering a variety of options. But make no mistake. When the newly elected representatives of the people take their seats, they will act.” 
 
 McConnell’s remarks also serve to underscore his and other Republican leaders’ effort to avoid any whiff of the threat of a government shutdown when funding runs dry on Dec. 11. Instead, top Republicans are urging measured responses from their rank-and-file, hoping to avoid impeachment and shutdown talk as they mull how precisely they will respond to Obama’s actions and balance the demands of conservative Republicans agitating for a fiery confrontation. 
 
 “My belief is you can’t capitulate, but you need to push back smartly,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). “If you overreact, it becomes about us, not about President Obama.” 
 
 (Video: President Obama's full immigration address) 
 
 And by planning a response to the White House in 2015, McConnell also would accrue significantly more sway over Capitol Hill’s direction. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) still controls the floor until January — and both he and Republican leaders have said that in the current divided Congress they are essentially confined to considering whatever House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) can muscle through his chamber to keep the government funded. ||||| GREENVILLE, S.C. — At Tommy’s Country Ham House, a popular spot downtown for politics and comfort food, not much has changed since 2007, the last time conservatives here made it crystal clear to politicians how they felt about what they see as amnesty for people who entered the country illegally. 
 
 “What we need to do is put them on a bus,” said Ken Sowell, 63, a lawyer from Greenville, as he ate lunch recently at the diner. “We need to enforce the border. If they want to apply legally more power to them. I don’t think just because a bunch of people violate the law, we ought to change the law for them.” 
 
 Six years ago, the intensity of that kind of sentiment was enough to scuttle immigration overhaul efforts led by President George W. Bush and a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, both Republicans. 
 
 Now, as a new bipartisan group of eight senators, including Mr. Graham and Mr. McCain, try again — this time with President Obama as their partner in the White House — members of Congress will have to overcome deep-seated resistance like that expressed in the restaurant if they are to push legislation forward. 
 
 Republicans are betting that opposition from Tea Party activists and the party’s most conservative supporters will have less impact because of the dire electoral consequences of continuing to take a hard line regarding immigrants. The senators on Monday released a blueprint for a new immigration policy that opens the door to possible citizenship ahead of a Tuesday speech on the subject by Mr. Obama in Las Vegas. 
 
 There is some evidence that the politics of immigration may be changing. Sean Hannity, the conservative host at Fox News, said days after the 2012 presidential election that he has “evolved” on immigration and now supports a comprehensive approach that could “get rid of” the issue for Republicans. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a rising star in the Republican Party, is pushing his own version of broad immigration changes — and getting praise from conservative icons like Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed. 
 
 But the Republican-controlled House remains a big hurdle. Speaker John A. Boehner on Monday was noncommittal about the emerging proposal, with a spokesman saying that Mr. Boehner “welcomes the work of leaders like Senator Rubio on this issue, and is looking forward to learning more about the proposal.” 
 
 Representative Lamar Smith, Republican of Texas and a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, said that “when you legalize those who are in the country illegally, it costs taxpayers millions of dollars, costs American workers thousands of jobs and encourages more illegal immigration.” 
 
 And if the lunch rush conversation at Tommy’s is any indication, many Republican lawmakers will soon return home to find their constituents just as opposed to the idea as they were before. Concern about immigration varies regionally. But in many Congressional districts around the country, the prospect of intense opposition carries with it the threat of a primary challenger if Republican lawmakers stray too far from hawkish orthodoxy on the issue. 
 
 “The people who are coming across the border — as far as I’m concerned, they are common criminals,” said Bill Storey, 68, a retired civil engineer from Greenville. “We should not adopt policies to reward them for coming into this country illegally. I have all the regard for them in the world if they come through the legal system, but not the illegal system.” 
 
 Charlie Newton, a construction worker in the Greenville area, praised the work ethic of Hispanic co-workers, but said he opposes any laws that would provide benefits to illegal immigrants, including help becoming citizens. 
 
 “I think we need to help our own people before we keep helping somebody else,” he said. 
 
 The president’s proposals are expected to include more border enforcement, work site verification systems that allow employers to check the status of their employees online, and a road map to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants now living in the country. Democratic senators could begin work on a bill in the next couple of weeks. 
 
 In the Fourth Congressional District in South Carolina, which includes Greenville, the formal arrival of such a plan is likely to anger the constituents of Trey Gowdy, a Republican House member who was elected in the 2010 Tea Party wave and is now the chairman of a key subcommittee that will deal with immigration. 
 
 Mr. Gowdy has already taken a hard line, signing on last year to the “Prohibiting Backdoor Amnesty Act,” which aimed to reverse Mr. Obama’s plans to delay deportations for some young illegal immigrants. The congressman will be under pressure to change his mind from the White House and its allies, including groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. But when he goes home to Greenville, Mr. Gowdy may find that his constituents want him to hold firm in his opposition. ||||| The House on Thursday voted to bar the executive branch from deferring the deportation of undocumented workers, taking its first direct action against President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. 
 
 The 219-197 vote, with three lawmakers voting present, was largely symbolic as the measure is headed for certain death in the Senate, where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said he won't take up the legislation. The White House has also threatened to veto the measure. 
 
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 The vote on legislation sponsored by Rep.(R-Fla.) is intended to help Speaker(R-Ohio) move a bill next week that would fund most of the government through next September and avoid a government shutdown on Dec. 12. 
 
 Republicans are up in arms over Obama’s actions on immigration, which could provide legal status and work permits to up to 5 million people. 
 
 Conservative groups have pressed the GOP to defund agencies implementing Obama’s order in response to the president’s actions. 
 
 But Boehner and his leadership team have settled on a strategy that would fund most of the government through September 2015, while only funding the Department of Homeland Security for a few months. Appropriators are expected to release the legislation on Monday. 
 
 Dozens of Republicans are expected to vote against the funding measure next week, which will force Boehner to win Democratic votes for the measure. Only 7 Republicans voted against Yoho’s bill, while three others voted present. Only three Democrats supported it. 
 
 Heritage Action spokesman Dan Holler said the influential conservative group didn't issue a key vote for the Yoho bill because “it is purely symbolic.” The group is urging Republicans to oppose the House GOP leadership’s funding plan. 
 
 Yoho said the measure reaffirmed the separation of powers outlined in the Constitution. 
 
 “To vote no against the bill is to vote no against the Constitution,” Yoho said. 
 
 But House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the measure was “cold-hearted.” 
 
 “Millions of hardworking, law-abiding families will be able to celebrate the holidays with a renewed hope in the future,” Pelosi said. “With this bill, Republicans would tear apart millions of families and throw thousands upon thousands of American children into foster care.” 
 
 Before the vote, the White House also criticized the House GOP's measure. 
 
 "It's a little nonsensical for them to pursue this course of action but not inconsistent with their strategy," said White House press secretary Josh Earnest. 
 
 Earnest argued the vote would roll back some of the president's initiatives in a way that would devote law enforcement resources to not focusing on criminals but instead deporting DREAMers. 
 
 "Many of them are American in every way but their paperwork," Earnest said. 
 
 The White House kept up the criticism in an afternoon conference call. 
 
 
 
 "The United States House of Representatives is voting to break up families," a senior administration official said. 
 
 
 
 Though the Democratic Senate is not expected to take up the bill, the official stressed that the vote “has consequences,” especially for Republicans. 
 
 
 
 "They would rather go back to a system that has no differentiation between Dream Act students who are trying to get right by the law versus people who aren't." 
 
 Boehner, for his part, dismissed criticism from conservatives in his party who say the leadership's response to Obama wasn't aggressive enough. He said his team's approach— the disapproval measure, plus keeping DHS on a short funding leash — was the best option until Republicans take control of both chambers of Congress next month. 
 
 “We think this is the most practical way to fight the president’s action,” Boehner said. “And frankly we listened to our members, and we listened to some members who are frankly griping the most. 
 
 “This was their idea of how to proceed,” he added. 
 
 Yoho is one of the House conservatives who has frequently butted heads with leadership. He voted against Boehner as Speaker two years ago. 
 
 Boehner said it would be an “act of monumental arrogance” if the Senate ignores the Yoho bill. 
 
 “The American people elected us to do their will and not to bow to the whims of the White House that regards the legislative process established by the Constitution as little more than a nuisance,” Boehner told reporters before the vote. 
 
 The seven Republican no votes were Reps. Mike Coffman (Colo.), Mario Diaz-Balart (Fla.), Jeff Denham (Calif.), Louie Gohmert (Texas), Illeana Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.), Marlin Stutzman (Ind.) and David Valadao (Calif.). With the exceptions of Gohmert and Stutzman, who thought the bill did not go far enough, these Republicans are supportive of immigration reform. 
 
 Democratic Reps. Collin Peterson (Minn.), John Barrow (Ga.) and Mike McIntyre (N.C.) voted in favor of the bill. 
 
 The three present votes were Republican Reps. Raul Labrador (Idaho), Paul Gosar (Ariz.) and Steve King (Iowa), who have all criticized the Senate's immigration reform bill. 
 
 Gosar said he voted present because he thinks the bill is a reflection of a strategy that doesn't go far enough. 
 
 "I don't want to give any cover to misgivings," Gosar said in an interview. "We might as well send him [Obama] a nice Christmas card. I'd rather send him a piece of coal and a stick." 
 
 Scott Wong, Jesse Byrnes and Peter Sullivan contributed. 
 
 — This story was last updated at 3:39 p.m.
– President Obama unveiled sweeping actions on immigration reform last night, and while the civil unrest Sen. Tom Coburn warned of hasn't materialized, it's safe to say congressional Republicans are deeply unhappy. Obama criticized Republicans for failing to act and dared them to "pass a bill," but the forceful actions GOP congressional leaders have promised in response are not expected to include immigration reform. More: Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised a tough response when the GOP majority takes office next year, but he didn't spell out any specific actions, Politico reports. Obama needs to understand that if he "acts in defiance of the people and imposes his will on the country, Congress will act," McConnell says. "We're considering a variety of options. But make no mistake. When the newly elected representatives of the people take their seats, they will act." Possible actions include a lawsuit against the White House or choking off funding to federal agencies. House Speaker John Boehner was among many Republicans who warned that Obama's order will make it tougher to reach compromise on other reforms. "By ignoring the will of the American people, President Obama has cemented his legacy of lawlessness and squandered what little credibility he had left," Boehner said in a statement. "His 'my way or the highway' approach makes it harder to build the trust with the American people that is necessary to get things done on behalf of the country." The immigration order not only sets the GOP against Obama, it raises the prospect of yet more intra-GOP conflict, with some conservatives demanding a government shutdown, reports the Washington Post. "The president wants to see an angry and intemperate response, thinking the Republicans will do something that leads to a shutdown," says Rep. Charlie Dent from Pennsylvania. "Don't take the bait, and don't have a hysterical reaction. We can be strong, rational, and measured." Democrats were broadly in support of the move to defer deportation for millions, but many called it just the first step in a process that should be completed by Congress, the Hill reports. The move is "a bold step in the right direction" but "not a permanent solution," says Democratic Rep. Linda Sanchez, the new head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Among those affected by the move, there is some joy and relief, but some feel it didn't go far enough and hope for a longer-term solution, the AP finds. "This will definitely help our family no longer live in fear, fear that we will have to drop everything if our parents are deported," says a 20-year-old woman in Portland whose parents lack legal status. "But there is still fear, because this is ... temporary, and we need something permanent."