In Election Year Stunt, Trump and His MAGA Allies Are Sabotaging a Bipartisan Effort to Strengthen Border Security

 

The Biden-Harris Administration and Congressional Democrats have worked in good faith with a small group of Republican lawmakers to find common ground on an issue that has vexed Washington for decades – securing the nation’s 2,000 mile southern border. This bill is not a comprehensive solution to immigration, however it is an important, bipartisan step to address an issue impacting American communities and risking lives every day.

But today, the bipartisan deal to bolster the nation’s border security is facing collapse, as Congressional Republicans are facing pressure from Donald Trump, who sees progress on securing the border as a threat to his re-election chances. Donald Trump is once again putting his own interests over those of the nation – by sinking a historic compromise deal in order to maintain or even exacerbate a crisis that he sees as politically expedient.

Trump and his allies are saying the quiet part out loud – that they want to kill a deal and create chaos to help Trump’s election chances: 

  • Donald Trump: “A Border Deal now would be another Gift to the Radical Left Democrats.” [1/25/24]

  • Speaker Mike Johnson: “Dead on arrival.” [1/31/24]

  • Representative Troy Nehls: “Let me tell you, I'm not willing to do too damn much right now to help a Democrat and to help Joe Biden’s approval rating.” [1/3/24]

  • Donald Trump: “It’s not going to happen and I’ll fight it all the way. A lot of the senators are trying to say, respectfully, they’re blaming it on me. I say, that’s okay. Please blame it on me. Please.” [1/27/24]

  • Speaker Mike Johnson: “I don’t think now is the time for comprehensive immigration reform.” [1/17/24]

  • Representative Troy Nehls: “Why would we do anything right now to help him with that 33 percent?” [2/1/24]

  • Senator Josh Hawley: “If [the border deal is] not dead yet it should be dead. There is absolutely no reason to agree to policies that would further enable Joe Biden.”[1/25/2024]

  • Donald Trump: “Call it the ‘Stupid Bill’ and make sure it doesn’t get passed.” [1/31/24]

  • Representative Byron Donalds: “What they did in the Senate is once again some ham-handed deal that would help the Democrats save face, give Republican leadership an ability to say that they did something… We’re just not interested in that.” [1/30/24]

  • Senator Ted Cruz: “I’ll tell you how we [can secure the border], we do that by beating Joe Biden in November by electing Donald Trump again…” [2/1/2024]

Trump’s callous electioneering hasn’t gone unnoticed by honest Republicans, who are working in good faith to deliver a solution the American people are clamoring for: 

  • Senator Mitt Romney: I think the border is a very important issue for Donald Trump. And the fact that he would communicate to Republican senators and congresspeople that he doesn’t want us to solve the border problem because he wants to blame Biden for it is really appalling.” [1/25/24]

  • Senator James Lankford: “Now it’s interesting that, a few months later, when we’re finally getting to the end, they’re like ‘oh just kidding. I actually don’t want a change in law because it’s a presidential election year.” [1/28/24]

  • Senator Thom Tillis: “I didn’t come here to have the president as a boss or a candidate as a boss. I came here to pass good, solid policy. It is immoral for me to think you looked the other way because you think this is the linchpin for President Trump to win.” [1/25/24]

  • Senator Kevin Cramer: “I reject the idea that we should reserve a crisis for a better time to solve it… I don’t see how we have a better story to tell when we miss the one opportunity to fix it” [1/25/24]

  • Representative Dan Crenshaw: “There are some in the Senate and in the House who are desperately trying to sabotage it for other reasons. Maybe they think that securing the border would help [President] Biden politically. Which, of course it would, but I want to secure the border. That’s what I told my voters I would do.” [2/01/24]

  • Senator Lisa Murkowski: “It was the Republicans, I will remind you, that told the Democrats months ago that if you want to try to get your Ukraine funding, you're gonna have to take up the border issue. This is what we asked for.” [1/31/24]

  • Senator Todd Young: “Anything that interrupts that negotiation, I think would be tragic… I hope no one is trying to take this away for campaign purposes.” [1/25/24]

  • Senator Kevin Cramer: The only betrayal we have to worry about is whether we are betraying the people we work for… We haven’t seen a bill yet. I don’t know why we undermine the effort to make the country safer.” [1/30/24]

  • Representative Dan Crenshaw: “I’m extremely disappointed in the strange maneuvering by many on the right to torpedo a potential border reform bill… But if we have a bill, that on net significantly decreases illegal immigration, and we sabotage that. That is inconsistent with what we told our voters we would do. And people will make up whatever reasons they want to. There's a number of them, I'm sure, but it would be a pretty unacceptable dereliction of your duty.” [2/1/24]

  • Senator Kevin Cramer: “If we don’t try to do something, when we have the moment to do something. All of those swing voters in swing states for whom the border is the number one priority have every right to look at us and go ‘you blew your opportunity. We were ready to give you a shot, and you blew it.’ I don’t see that coming back as a reward to us. If we don’t try, then shame on us.” [1/30/24]

Published: February 2024