Some rank-and-file members “flat-out admitted (to blocking a deal) for political purposes, after hearing from former President Trump,” he said.
The memo marks a significant increase in rhetoric from administration officials. Immediately after former President Donald Trump spoke out against Senate negotiations, the White House
remained largely silent in hope to save a bipartisan compromise.
The White House and its president now appear engaged in an effort to shift blame to each other for their failure to deal with the surge of migrants at the border. It happened in the middle of a
uncertain fate for a possible agreement in the Senate it would tie border policy to significant funding for Ukraine and Israel. Polls show that Republicans generally fare better with the public when it comes to which party has the best response to the border and immigration.
Johnson’s camp has criticized President Joe Biden for rolling back Trump-era border regulations that led to a surge in migrants crossing the border.
Bates in his memo listed four moments in which House Republicans opposed Biden’s border demands, including requests for funding for fiscal years 2022 and 2023 and two requests for additional funding.
In response, Johnson’s office pointed to its own memo from early January, saying that while House Republicans provide significant funding for border security, Biden’s policies are the problem.
“In a desperate attempt to shift blame for the crisis caused by their policies, they claimed it was a funding problem,” spokesperson Raj Shah wrote in the memo. “Clearly, they have no facts to support their claims. »
Johnson said the package did not do enough to solve the border problem and
rejected the idea that he opposes it because Trump does.
The Senate has not yet released details of its negotiations, but Johnson last week declared the measure “dead on arrival” in his chamber, based on his knowledge of the proposal. The White House is now trying to take advantage of the Republican Party’s opposition.
Johnson and other Republicans, including former President Trump, say legislation is not needed to resolve the border crisis and that Biden has executive power he is not using. But Trump, as president, requested authorities similar to what Biden is currently requesting. And the Republican Party’s position in the House a few weeks ago was that the Senate should pass the House’s conservative border legislation, H.R. 2.
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), the leading Republican in the negotiations, lambasted members of his own party for opposing a possible border deal for political reasons.
“Four months ago, Republicans shook their hands and said, ‘We’re not going to give you any money for this.’ We want a change in the law,” Lankford said Sunday on Fox News. “A few months later, when we finally get to the end, they say, ‘Oh, just kidding.’ In fact, I don’t want a law change because it’s a presidential election year.
Johnson’s promise that any Senate border deal would die in the House all but sealed his fate. But it also undermined what little Republican support existed in the Senate, making it uncertain whether a deal would reach that chamber.
The Senate plan – the text of which has not been released – would speed up the asylum process and force the United States to close the border if more than 5,000 migrants cross it each day.