Obama Works the Phones to Calm Tensions on Immigration Plan

After a Presidents’ Day weekend whodunit of who leaked what and why â€" not to mention a he-said, she-said back-and-forth on the Sunday shows and in news releases â€" President Obama took to the phones Tuesday afternoon to quell rising tensions with Senate Republicans after a draft of a White House immigration plan was somehow leaked to the news media.

On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Obama spoke with the Republican Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, John McCain of Arizona and Marco Rubio of Florida â€" three of the four Republican members of a Senate bipartisan group of eight seeking to create a legislative compromise on overhauling the nation’s immigration system â€" to discuss what the White House called “their shared commitment to bipartisan, common-sense immigration reform.” The fourth Republican member of the group, Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, was traveling, but te White House said Mr. Obama hoped to talk to him in the near future.

Mr. Obama’s calls represented at least a tacit acknowledgment that the White House had been laggard in its political outreach to the Senate Republicans who are part of the bipartisan group, and that it was beginning to pay a political price.

“During the calls, which build on conversations that have taken place at the staff level, the president reiterated that he remains supportive of the effort under way in Congress, and that he hopes that they can produce a bill as soon as possible that reflects shared core principles on reform,” the White House said in a statement. The statement also reiterated that the president “is prepared to submit his own legislation if Congress fails to act.”

A leaked draft of the White House immigration plan, which includes an eight-year pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants â€" with none of the border security triggers that most Republicans! favor â€" set off a round of angry Republican recriminations last weekend. Mr. Rubio called the president’s plan “half-baked and seriously flawed,” as well as “dead on arrival.” (The White House reiterated on Tuesday that the leak “was not an intentional release.”)

On Tuesday morning, Mr. Rubio’s spokesman, Alex Conant, sent out an e-mail in which he rebuked the White House for not reaching out to Senate Republicans before creating its own immigration bill.

“Senator Rubio’s office has never discussed immigration policy with anyone in the White House,” he wrote. “If the Obama administration is serious about drafting and passing its own immigration reform, why wouldn’t they seek input from any Republicans whose support they’ll need”

Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, denied Mr. Conant’s assertion when asked about it at his daily news briefing, saying only, “We have been in contact with everybody involved in this effort on Capitol Hill.” A senio administration official also said that Mr. Rubio was mistaken â€" his staff has been in five meetings involving staff members from the bipartisan group and administration officials.

Asked about Mr. Carney’s claim, Mr. Conant responded in an e-mail: “We’ve never received a call or e-mail from Cecilia Muñoz or anyone else at the White House asking for our input as they draft their bill. The President did call Senator Rubio this afternoon â€" that was the first time the two of them had ever discussed immigration policy.” (Ms. Muñoz, the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, is overseeing the president’s immigration push.)

However, Mr. Obama’s outreach seemed to have calmed tempers on the Hill â€" at least for now.

“Senator Graham had a short, cordial phone conversation with President Obama,” Kevin Biship, a spokesman for Mr. Graham, said in an e-mail statement. “They discussed the need for immigration reform and why it is important we fix our broken ! immigrati! on system.”

Mr. Rubio’s office released a similarly concise, but conciliatory e-mail. “Senator Rubio appreciated receiving President Obama’s phone call to discuss immigration reform late tonight in Jerusalem,” the statement read. “The senator told the president that he feels good about the ongoing negotiations in the Senate, and is hopeful the final product is something that can pass the Senate with strong bipartisan support.”