mr. laxalt: mr. congressman there's no way something like that would happen. the attorney general's office is top law enforcement for the state and we have many statutory duties to protect our citizens. a lot of this is much ado about nothing. the governor and i worked together on many issues, and i'm the legal advisor to all of our agencies as well as our boards and commission. this is an unfortunate issue but as i said, there is no issue with the governor and i. rep. jeffries: thank you. i hope you will also agree that even though there is a disagreement between the president and congress, it would be unreasonable to use your phrase, to defund such an important agency simply because of a political dispute. i yield back. chairman gowdy: before i go to the gentleman from idaho, i would say that i think having an independent attorney general is a great idea. it is something we ought to try on a national level. mr. labrador. rep. labrador: thank you, mr. chairman. my good friend, mr. jeffries, is comparing apples and oranges. nobody in congress is trying to defu

attorney general laxalt, welcome, you may begin. >> mr. chairman, ranking member conyers, and members of the committee, my name is adam paul laxalt, attorney general of nevada. on behalf of nevada i thank you for the opportunity to testify today about the state's lawsuit challenging president obama's unilateral executive action granting deferred action to over four million people. i represent one of the 26 states that has sued the federal government. the state's lawsuit, while immigration is the substantive issue underlying the president's executive action, this lawsuit is not ultimately about immigration. rather it's about the president's attempt to change the law through unconstitutional executive action. like most of us, i am the descendent of immigrants. my ancestors came here in search of a better life. my grandfather, paul laxalt, was the son of an immigration sheep hearder. he rose to become the governor of nevada and united states senator. in our nation's history, similar stories have been repeated over and over. they are what we ha

attorney general laxalt, welcome, you may begin. >> mr. rman, ranking member conyers, and members of the committee, my name is adam paul laxalt, attorney general of nevada. on behalf of nevada i thank you for the opportunity to testify today about the state's lawsuit challenging president obama's unilateral executive action granting deferred action to over four million people. i represent one of the 26 states that has sued the federal government. the state's lawsuit, while immigration is the substantive issue underlying the president's executive action, this lawsuit is not ultimately about immigration. rather it's about the president's attempt to change the law through unconstitutional executive action. like most of us, i am the descendent of immigrants. my ancestors came here in search of a better life. my grandfather, paul laxalt, was the son of an immigration sheep herder. he rose to become the governor of nevada and united states senator. in our nation's history, similar stories have been repeated over and over. they are what we have co