Trump Immigration Policy: Which Republican Senators, House Members Are Against The Muslim Ban?

More than three dozen Republicans expressed reservations or outright opposition Monday to President Donald Trump’s executive order barring immigrants from seven countries as the administration scrambled to clarify who exactly would be affected.

The Hill reported 21 senators and 17 House Republicans questioned the order, which bans Syrian refugees indefinitely and immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen for at least 90 days. The order also suspends the U.S. refugee program for at least 120 days while the administration develops its “extreme vetting” procedures.

The order has sparked several lawsuits and prompted demonstrations at airports across the country.

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida called the order broad and said it needs clarification. He also said the State Department has been instructed not to talk to Congress about it.

“I don’t know the reason,” he told reporters Monday.

“That cannot be a permanent position. We expect answers here fairly soon because we have constituents calling.”

Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee said the whole concept of “extreme vetting” needs “more vetting. More scrutiny of those traveling from war-torn countries to the United States is wise. But this broad and confusing order seems to ban legal, permanent residents with ‘green cards' ... And while not explicitly a religious test, it comes close to one which is inconsistent with our American character.”

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine called the order “overly broad” and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said the order itself hadn’t been “properly vetted.”

Graham issued a joint statement with Sen. John McCain of Arizona saying they were particularly concerned the order had been issued without consultation with the Departments of State, Defense, Justice and Homeland Security.

Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas said he cannot support “restricting the rights of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.” He was also upset there had been no consultation with Congress.

Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming said a religious test or ban goes against “everything our country stands for.”

In the House, Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, a staunch national security advocate, said the order clearly needs adjusting.

“We should not simply turn away individuals who already have lawful U.S. visas or green cards — like those who have risked their lives serving alongside our forces overseas or who call America their home,” McCaul said.

Expressions of concern also came from Sens. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Orrin Hatch of Utah, Dean Heller of Nevada, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Mike Lee of Utah, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Rob Portman of Ohio, Pat Robert of Kansas, Tim Scott of South Carolina and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

In the House, concern was voiced by Reps. Justin Amash of Michigan, Mike Coffman of Colorado, Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, John Faso of New York, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Will Hurd of Texas, Leonard Lance of New Jersey, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, Elise Stevanik of New York, Carlos Curbelo of Florida, Barbara Comstock of Virginia, Jaime Herrera Buetler of Washington, Randy Hultgren of Illinois, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Raul Labrador of Idaho, Dan Newhouse of Washington and Steve Stivers of Ohio.