A bipartisan border accord and global aid package valued at $118 billion faced increasing resistance from Republicans on Tuesday, one day before a pivotal Senate vote.
Republican internal strife has thrown the bill’s fate in doubt and might derail any congressional reaction to the border crisis, jeopardising aid to both Israel and Ukraine.
Ex-President Trump and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana have been unrelenting in their criticism of the deal, even though it includes conservative-backed measures to tighten border restrictions. Johnson has claimed that the bill will never pass Johnson’s chamber, even if it survives the Senate. In an interview with Truth Social, Trump—who is aiming to use immigration as a campaign platform—said that Republicans would “look bad” if they approved more funding for the border.
A deal negotiated by Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, one of the most conservative senators, along with Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, took another hit when two prominent members of the Senate GOP leadership, John Barrasso and John Thune, respectively, stated their intention to vote against the measure in an initial procedural vote on Wednesday.
When the package comes up for its first procedural vote on Wednesday, most Republicans in the Senate will likely vote “no” or are strongly opposed to it. After the bill’s unveiling on Sunday night, several Republicans immediately lambasted the proposal, while others said additional time should be allowed to review, discuss, and maybe change it.
Senate Republican whip Thune has stated his intention to vote against the bill’s advancement on Wednesday and has been rather forthright in stating that the “predominate position” of Republican senators will be to oppose the package, virtually guaranteeing that the measure will not receive the 60 votes necessary to initiate floor debate.
Thune stated, “I think it’s unlikely because our members are still, they want more time to evaluate it and I think that’s rushing it” when asked if any GOP senators will back the measure.
Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, has encouraged his colleagues to reject the procedural vote on Wednesday, which coincides with Thune’s opposition.
“I cannot vote for this bill,” Barrasso stated in a statement, indicating that he is the chairman of the Senate GOP Conference. To put a stop to the border problem, Americans will look to the forthcoming election.
In a scathing attack on Senate Republicans, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer accused them of following Trump’s directives by opting to reject the measure in its current form on Tuesday.
“Everyone here is aware of what’s happening. Instead of allowing the Senate to do what is right and resolve the border crisis, Donald Trump would prefer to maintain it so he can use it throughout his campaign. “He would prefer to see Ukraine suffer on the battlefield rather than take a firm stance against Putin,” Schumer stated. “And rather than confronting Donald Trump, Senate Republicans are prepared to undermine our greatest opportunity at addressing the border and are prepared to reject this aid package for Ukraine, all in an effort to prioritise their own political interests over the broader national interest.”
Noting that Republicans had asked for 72 hours to review the package, the Democratic leader attacked their demands for further time and offered to postpone the first procedural vote until Thursday if they preferred another day. I have my doubts that they will take advantage of even that offer; they clearly do not desire additional time. According to him, it’s really an excuse.
A second notable senior Republican, Senator John Cornyn, has stated his intention to vote against advancing the accord and has expressed his need for revisions to some provisions of the package.
Before later saying, “I’m a ‘no’ on the motion to proceed,” Cornyn said AWN, “We need more time.”
On Tuesday, Murphy—an important Democratic border deal negotiator—rendered the Senate Republicans a “disaster” and characterised their behaviour towards Lankford—the chief GOP negotiator—as “disgusting.” Murphy said that he never anticipated that the Republicans would abandon him “hanging out to dry as badly as they did.”
It was unexpected that they would abandon Senator Lankford to his plight to such an extent, according to Murphy. “I had faith they could muster the necessary support to ratify a strict, conservative compromise that he ultimately succeeded in achieving.”
On Tuesday, Lankford expressed his “disappointment” with his colleagues, whom he claims are rejecting the package based on inaccurate descriptions rather than its actual contents.
Claims that the package includes amnesty, allows thousands more migrants to enter the US, and incentivizes more people to cross the border were brought up in his speech, and he emphasised that if one disagrees with the bill, they should do so based on the facts of the bill, rather than on something that is actually factually false.
In addition, Lankford expressed his astonishment at the amount of false information that has been circulated and its impact.
As more Republican senators ask for further time to review the text or reject it completely, he conceded that “it’s not looking good” for the package to become law in the end.
A harsh modification to immigration law, it would offer the president far-reaching authorities to block illegal migrant crossings at the southern border, despite Trump and some Republicans attacking the bill as too weak.
In an op-ed headed “A Border Security Bill Worth Passing,” the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal referred to the arrangement as “the most restrictive migrant legislation in decades,” noting that “its provisions include long-time GOP priorities.”
Humanitarian help for people in Gaza, the West Bank, and Ukraine would be included in the massive legislative package, along with billions of dollars to back Ukraine’s struggle against Russia and security aid for Israel.
Since some Republican senators had before insisted on bundling border measures with aid to Ukraine and Israel, it is uncertain whether the two topics can be passed independently by Congress.
Cornyn signalled his support for dropping the border provisions and moving on with the remaining security supplements for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan when asked if Congress should do so.
He suggested postponing the border and focusing on the remaining tasks.
Several Republican sources have informed us that Johnson is attempting to have a separate package of aid for Israel passed on Tuesday, but that this is also about to fail due to resistance from extreme right-wing Republicans and Democratic leaders.
If the House were to pass a separate aid package for Israel, President Joe Biden would reject it, the White House announced on Monday.
In a statement, the White House summarised the months-long process of negotiations with a bipartisan group of senators. The goal was to reach a national security agreement that would secure the border, offer support to the people of Ukraine and Israel, and provide humanitarian aid to civilians impacted by conflicts worldwide. “This bill is another cynical political manoeuvre,” the author said, “rather than actively addressing the most pressing national security challenges.”
