House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said President Obama’s decision to hold off executive action on immigration until after the midterms “smacks of raw politics.”

Boehner said there would never be a “right” time for Obama to “declare amnesty by executive action.”

{mosads}”But the decision to simply delay this deeply-controversial and possibly unconstitutional unilateral action until after the election – instead of abandoning the idea altogether – smacks of raw politics,” Boehner said in an emailed statement.

The Republican leader has said that he wants to move on immigration reform but remains unable to bring his party’s conference together on the issue.

He added that executive action by the president would “further strain” trust between the White House and the public.