Both Parties Are Terrified Of Trump On The Border
Lankford said, “Right now these internet rumors is all the people are running on. It would be absolutely absurd for me to agree to 5,000 people a day. This bill focuses on getting us to zero illegal crossings a day. There’s no amnesty. It increases the number of border patrol agents, increases asylum officers. It increases detention beds so we can quickly detain and then deport individuals. It ends catch and release. It focuses on additional deportation flights out. It changes our asylum process so that people get a fast asylum screening at a higher standard, and then get returned back to their home country. This is not about letting 5,000 people in a day. This is the most misunderstood section of this proposal.”
The problem is that Langford won't release any specifics about the plan that would refute the rumors, and he complains the problem is that it's a "presidential election year", which is a backhanded acknowledgement that Trump is driving policy for enough Senate Republicans to kill the deal. Meanwhile, Biden's response has been that Republicans are preventing action on the border by delaying the same deal:
Biden announced his endorsement of the deal late Friday evening.
“Securing the border through these negotiations is a win for America. For everyone who is demanding tougher border control, this is the way to do it. If you’re serious about the border crisis, pass a bipartisan bill and I will sign it,” Biden said in a statement.
But via the same link, the deal is already dead, and Trump killed it:
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has backed away from the deal, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has told colleagues that the deal is “dead on arrival” in the House.
Former President Donald Trump, the likely Republican presidential nominee, has helped expose the deal’s details to hugely expand overall immigration to the United States — publicly and privately urging Senate Republicans to oppose the effort.
Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Mitt Romney (R-UT), John Thune (R-SD), and Todd Young (R-IN) have complained that Trump’s influence has made the deal toxic for other Republicans to sign on to.
Trump's ability to drive events is continuing to worry Republican senators. According to Politico,
Asked if the agreement appears to be on a path toward passing the Senate, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) replied: “It certainly doesn’t seem like it.”
“There are a number of our members who say, ‘Well, I'll join a majority of the Republicans but if it doesn't enjoy that sort of support, then count me out,'” Cornyn said in an interview. “The whole idea of passing something that the House won't even take up is another challenge."
There are two main reasons for the growing questions about the bill’s future: Trump's attacks and Johnson's vows not to take it up. And the two seem related; Johnson said Tuesday he had talked to Trump about the issue “at length” though he denied they are opposing it for political reasons.
Opposing it for political reasons in a presidential election year with Trump the likely Republican nominee? Perish the thought! But the fear is extending beyond Republicans:
Some Democrats and the White House have acknowledged that President Biden could take executive actions to better secure the U.S. border without additional legislation passed by Congress.
Pressure is mounting on Biden to issue executive orders to address the border crisis after he rescinded many Trump-era border executive orders upon taking office. Biden unilaterally ended the border emergency that Trump had implemented after he took office in January 2021 as well.
Just the News asked Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., how he responds to those who argue that Biden could fix a lot of the border issues unilaterally since he eliminated a lot of former President Donald Trump's border executive orders when he came into office.
"There's a lot of issues here, OK? There's some things he could do," he said. "I'm hoping that as soon as the Senate comes up with their deal, that we get at least a shot at looking at it, voting. I'm not sure if I'll support it. Give us a shot at voting on it."
But it's likely there will never be a vote in the plan -- even Democrat senators don't want to be on record voting for the controversial and as yet unpublished aspects of the "compromise". As of yesterday, Speaker Johnson declared the deal "officially dead".Trump is happy to get credit for killing the deal:
On Saturday, at a campaign rally in Nevada, the Republican presidential front-runner seemed to gloat about his efforts to kill the bill.
"As the leader of our party there is zero chance I will support this horrible open borders betrayal of America. It's not going to happen," Trump said. "I notice a lot of the Senators are trying to say -- respectfully they are blaming it on me, I say that's OK please blame it on me, please, because they were getting ready to pass a very bad bill."
With the bill dead and even Democrats acknowledging Biden can and must act over the border, this leaves the next step up to Biden, whose options are now pretty limited. If he does anything, it will appear that Trump forced him to do it.