The Senate braces for a border showdown with the House as it prepares to move forward with the bill, despite warnings from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) that death is likely on arrival. ing.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and his allies are not ignoring Johnson, but if the bill passes the Senate with strong Republican support, Johnson will I’m betting there will be intense pressure to bring it to a vote in the House of Commons. Chamber.
Senior aides expect the bill to be on the Senate floor by the end of next week, but leaders have not yet officially announced a decision on timing.
If Johnson does not act on the bill, House Republicans risk being accused of abandoning Ukraine on the battlefield and undermining America’s confidence in its allies.
It allows Democrats to accuse them of blocking reforms that would have drastically reduced the flow of migrants across the southern border.
“I think this bill can pass the Senate because there are enough Senate Republicans who have been working on this bill for four or five months. They just saw it rejected in the House, and many Senate Republicans, too, said Jonathan Cotto, a Democratic strategist and former Senate aide. “And we’re willing to work on whatever Donald Trump is trying to do.”
Ten years ago, 14 Republican senators voted in favor of a sweeping immigration reform bill that would hire 20,000 Border Patrol agents and require the government to build 700 miles of fencing, but the Republican-controlled House It did not reach the floor of the meeting. At the time, former President Obama was inaugurated as president.
Former President Trump declared that Republicans should oppose the bill that would deny President Biden a victory in Congress, calling the bill a “political necessity” and a “gift to the radical left Democrats” and Johnson. It made an already difficult situation even tougher for him.
“There’s a danger. If Republicans say the obvious reason we’re walking away from this deal is obviously political, there’s a clear political danger there,” McConnell said in a statement from McConnell’s past campaign. said Scott Jennings, a Republican strategist who has advised the movement.
Jennings said it will be difficult for Republicans who support the border security deal to defend it against Republican lawmakers who criticize it because the full text has not yet been released.
But McConnell and his top deputy, Senate Republican John Thune (S.D.), say Democrats have made significant concessions on asylum reform that would be difficult to implement if Republicans regained control. They argue that this is a unique opportunity to strengthen immigration laws that may otherwise be unavailable. of the White House and the Senate.
They reason that under unified Republican control of Washington, Democrats would block any reforms from passing in the Senate, where most legislation requires 60 votes to pass.
Mr. McConnell and his allies have increasingly argued that Republicans need to show voters they know how to govern, including funding the Ukraine war and making big strides in tightening border security. will do just that.
“If we don’t get this done, the Trump administration won’t get it done. We don’t have the right to vote,” warned Sen. Thom Tillis (RN.C.), who is participating in the negotiations. did.
“If we do our job, get support from key organizations like the Border Patrol Council, go out to law enforcement, talk to Texas officials, we have a lot to offer Chairman Johnson. “I believe that we can do this and what we need to consider to move it forward,” he said.
Jennings, the Republican strategist, argued that Trump brought the border security issue into the spotlight during his presidency and said the bill could reap political rewards if it passes.
More critically, after months of turmoil and turmoil, Congress threatened to default on the national debt in June, shut down the government in late September and ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, followed by three weeks of infighting. , he said House Republicans could demonstrate their ability to govern. (R-Calif.) From work.
“The biggest victory may be to demonstrate stewardship. We only control one of two rooms. If we can drive policy while only controlling part of it, “That would be a Republican victory,” he said.
However, Mr. McConnell has faced strong opposition from conservatives in the Senate, including Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), who has pushed Prime Minister Johnson into a corner by moving forward with the Ukraine funding bill, which includes border security reform, negotiated by Mr. Chris. He is accusing the government of forcing him to do so. Mr. Murphy (Democrat of Connecticut) and White House officials.
“Why on earth would we need a tie vote between all the Democrats and 10 or 12 Republicans that has no chance of passing the House?” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said last week. , demanded his own leadership.
“The only purpose of bringing this up is to give Democrats political cover and say, ‘Oh my God, we would have secured the border, but those pesky House Republicans won’t let us.'” refused. “This bill represents Senate Republican leadership waging war against House Republican leadership.”
Mr. McConnell and his allies have struggled to fend off conservative attacks on the border agreement because many of the bill’s details remain secret.
Murphy, the Democratic chief negotiator, announced over the weekend that senators had reached an agreement on border security provisions and were finalizing the text of the complex bill.
McConnell floated the idea of removing border security provisions from Ukraine funds during the Senate Republican conference last week, but he did not recommend that option, following statements from some Republican colleagues who support the border deal. It was withdrawn at lunchtime on Thursday. Their dissatisfaction with the idea of splitting the problem.
One Republican senator, who requested anonymity to discuss tensions between Republican leaders in the House and Senate, said that if the border security deal passes in the Senate, Mr. Johnson could lose his job if it passes in the House. , he said, putting him in a difficult position.
“I think he has a lot of influence over the House of Representatives, especially Johnson. I think [Trump] If Johnson takes a strong stance against this, he will find himself in a predicament. I don’t think Mr. Johnson can pass this,” the senator said.
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