Johnson feels heat from Trump, conservatives to reject Senate border deal

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) is under pressure from conservatives and former President Trump to reject the newly emerged bipartisan border and Ukraine aid package, despite pressure from Senate Republicans and the White House. I'm under pressure.

Republican senators supporting the deal argue that the use of Ukraine aid gives them a unique opportunity to secure major border reforms from a Democratic administration, but the former president Johnson says he consulted with We are asking him to veto any bill. It's not “perfect”.

The situation leaves little room for maneuver for the speaker, who holds a historically narrow House majority and is already dealing with rumors of moves to oust him.

The chairman emerged from a White House meeting with President Biden and Congressional leaders on Wednesday, but Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) said the meeting was meant to encourage President Biden to accept the Senate agreement. He said it appeared to be intended to be “strong” but remained highly critical of what was reported. He renewed his call for Biden to take executive action at the border.

“If the bill is anything like what is being talked about, then of course it will die in the House of Commons, because it won't solve the problem,” Johnson told CNN on Wednesday.

But Johnson did not completely close the door to a deal, saying he would have to wait to see the contents of the bill and could not answer hypothetical questions.

Although Johnson is under pressure on many fronts, he insisted on Fox News that “no one has more power over me.”

Many House Republicans have indicated they would aggressively eliminate border measures that fall short of the Secure Borders Act. The bill is a sweeping immigration bill that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has said will expire upon arrival. It's in the upper room.

The Senate agreement is expected to include changes to asylum policy, but negotiators say the issue of humanitarian parole is a major sticking point in negotiations.

And in a presidential election year, some Republicans argue that a deal could neutralize a major political issue for the party.

“The worst thing we can do is pretend we've done something with border security and give the American people false hope and a false impression that we've done something that will make a difference,” Bob said. said Congressman Good. The chairman of the hard-line conservative House Freedom Caucus (R-Va.) said this about the Senate's border deal.

Good later said that Democrats and the Biden administration “want to look like they care about the border issue, but then their time runs out and they want him to get reelected so they don't have to do something they won't do anyway.” “I hope,” he added.

The most prominent critic of the border deal is President Trump, who wrote on his website Truth Social late Wednesday that he expects Prime Minister Johnson to “get just the perfect deal on the border.” Posted.

Fox News host Laura Ingraham said Wednesday night that the former president was “extremely concerned” that the speaker should have opposed the deal and that the president could take executive action at the border without “new legislation.” “We are determined to do so,” he said.

Prime Minister Johnson responded, “President Trump is not wrong.'' “He and I talk about this quite often.”

Republican senators who support the deal in the Senate are hopeful that Johnson will change his tune, pointing to other issues he has moved on.

He took a second short-term stopgap measure on Thursday after announcing his opposition in November. He also withdrew plans to bring two competing reforms to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to the House of Representatives after conservatives expressed opposition.

But these changes, like other legislative actions, raise the subtle threat of a resignation motion, an effort to force a vote to oust the speaker.

With several vacancies and absences expected, just a few Republican defections could threaten not only the partisan bill but Mr. Johnson's job.

“If things keep going the way they are, do you think that kind of outcome is possible? Yes,” said the eight people who worked with Democrats to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). One Republican, Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), spoke of the possibility of ousting Johnson.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) also told reporters that she would voluntarily ask for Johnson's resignation if he pushed for aid to Ukraine.

“If he continues to kill an entire generation of Ukrainian men and continues to fight a losing war with $60 billion to fund a war in Ukraine…well, I will submit a motion to resign. “I guess so,” Green told reporters.

Mr Johnson said he was “not concerned” about Mr Green's threat to expel him.

But rejecting the Senate deal may be one of the few ways he needs to build friendly relations with the right.

Last week, Johnson rejected a request from members of the Freedom Caucus to withdraw from a major spending deal with Democrats, as well as a request from the Freedom Caucus to bring forward a vote on the Border Security Amendment before passing it. A last-minute proposal was also rejected. A short-term stopgap funding bill will be introduced Thursday.

The proposed amendments would have been partly in response to the Senate agreement, but would have been a major change to the plan hours before the scheduled vote.

MP Ralph Norman (RS.C.) said he was concerned the Speaker would accept the Senate border deal after Johnson's veto.

“We wanted it to be part of the spending. He just didn't do it,” Norman said.

But not all House Republicans oppose what appears to be emerging in the Senate, and some believe there is an opportunity for the White House to use the pursuit of Ukraine aides as leverage.

“That would be the concern — just as the Democrats walked away from a deal they should have broken 15 years ago that they should have regretted, the Republicans are in a similar position here.” said Representative Patrick McHenry (RN). .C.).

McHenry dismissed claims that passing a border deal in the Senate would negate Republicans' ability to campaign on border issues in 2024.

“Frankly, Democrats are not going to vote for a border wall. And that's what the American people want. And that's the most ripe thing for a Republican presidential candidate to campaign on. It's the most fruitful politics. It's going to be available,” McHenry said.