President Biden said Wednesday that Republicans “threw Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) overboard” after he torpedoed a border security bill that the Oklahoma Republican helped craft.
“They really threw a man overboard,” Biden told donors at a New York City fundraiser.
The president repeated comments he made the day before, when he held former President Trump responsible for the failure of a bipartisan immigration deal in the face of Republican opposition.
“Trump decided that was something that would help me and something that would hurt him. To get rid of the problem. So what did he do? … He got on the phone and called people and “I said, ‘If you do that, there will be retribution,'” Biden said.
Senate Republicans early Wednesday blocked a motion to begin consideration of a national security bill that would include $20 billion for border security. It gives the federal government temporary power to expel immigrants if the average daily number of arrivals exceeds a set threshold, eliminates “catch-and-release,” and raises standards for asylum screening. It would have included provisions such as allowing authorities to process applications more quickly.
The bill also includes $60 billion in funding for Ukraine in its war against Russia and $14.1 billion in funding for Israel in its fight against Hamas and aid to Indo-Pacific allies. It reflects the proposals submitted by the House to Parliament. About the Israel-Hamas war.
The effort was led by Lankford, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.).
“A key aspect of this issue is that, again, we as Republicans are holding press conferences complaining about the bad conditions at the border, and then intentionally closing the border after December, the worst month in American history. Are we going to stay open?” Lankford said Monday.
The bill had the support of the National Border Patrol Council (a border protection union that supported President Trump in 2020) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
But Trump, who is likely to be the Republican nominee in November’s election, had urged Republicans to oppose the bill, saying it was politically problematic for Republicans. Republican lawmakers have voiced widespread opposition, with some saying the bill doesn’t go far enough to combat immigration.
Democrats have argued for weeks that Congressional Republicans are refusing to make any compromises on the border, which could be a political victory for Biden in an election year. Trump has repeatedly criticized Biden for the flow of migrants at the southern border, and polls show voters have more confidence in Trump on immigration and border issues.
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