Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Thursday pressured Republican lawmakers to oppose the border deal in an effort to use the issue against President Biden in the 2024 presidential election. criticized.
Romney told CNN's Manu Raju that he thought it was “absolutely frightening” that President Trump would try to block progress on dealing with the surge of migrants at the southern border.
“I think the border is a very important issue for Donald Trump,” Romney said. “And the fact that he's telling Republican senators and representatives that he doesn't want them to solve the border issue because he wants to blame Biden on the border issue is really scary.”
“But the reality is, there's a crisis at the border, Americans are suffering as a result of what's happening at the border, and I think anybody running for president is going to say, 'Hey, what about this?' You should try to solve the problem instead of “save the problem.'' Don't settle. I'll give you credit for solving it later,” Romney continued.
Mr. Romney's comments came after weeks of negotiations on a potential legislative package that would address border security and provide funding to Ukraine and other allies. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his allies have warned that even if President Trump wins re-election, it is unlikely that Republicans will be able to reach a similar deal any time soon. ing.
But Mr. Trump's influence looms large within the party, particularly among House conservatives, and the prospects of passing the deal with enough Republican support are looking increasingly slim.
Last week, President Trump made his position clear on social media, saying, “We should have a border deal unless we get everything we need to stop the invasion of millions and millions of people. I don't think so at all,” he wrote.
McConnell said Wednesday that border security reform is increasingly likely to be passed and hinted at the possibility of breaking up the national security package.
A source told The Hill on Wednesday that Senate Republicans who support the bill believe the concessions they elicited from Democrats would be a “huge victory,” but that President Trump opposes the bill. He said it was becoming clear that the bill could be blocked from passing in the Republican-controlled House.
“The Trump faction wants to kill this issue and pursue this issue,” a Senate source familiar with internal Republican discussions told The Hill on Wednesday.
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