When House Republicans in February smacked down a border bill
"The strongest, most comprehensive border security bill we've seen in a generation"
Centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Arizona) has been highly critical of MAGA Republicans in Congress who shot down a bipartisan border security deal that she worked on closely with conservative Sen. James Lankford (R-Oklahoma).
Democrats and independents who supported the bill argued that President Joe Biden was willing to compromise and meet Republicans more than half way on immigration and U.S./Mexico border security — and that pro-Donald Trump MAGA Republicans sank the bill anyway.
Lankford discussed the bill's fate during a Thursday, April 18 appearance on Fox News.
When Fox News host Neil Cavuto reminded Lankford that his GOP "colleagues" — and "not Democrats" — "torpedoed" the bill, the GOP senator responded, "Right. It was, and it was painful to be able to watch it. It got stirred up in all the presidential politics, and several of my colleagues started looking for ways after President Trump said, 'Don't fix anything' — like during the presidential election."
Lankford continued, "It's the single biggest issue during the election — don't resolve this, we'll resolve this next year."
The conservative senator noted that "quite a few of my colleagues backed up, looked for a reason to be able to shoot against it — and then walked away."
Lankford said, "I get that…. My issue is: if we're pursuing everything, we very often end up with nothing. If we're pursuing someone coming later to fix it, later never comes."
Rolling Stone's Nikki McCann Ramirez describes Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) as a Republican who has "made clear" that his motives are "purely political" when it comes to a possible Biden/GOP deal on border policy.
Nehls, Ramirez observes, "said the quiet part out loud" when he told CNN, "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. I will not help the Democrats try to improve this man's dismal approval ratings. I'm not going to do it. Why would I? (Senate Majority Leader) Chuck Schumer has had HR 2 on his desk since July, and he did nothing with it."
Nehls' comments, according to Ramirez, "lay bare House Republicans' ultimate guiding light in their governance strategy: helping Trump defeat President Joe Biden."
On Tuesday, former Vice President Mike Pence shared News Nation's report about his trip to the US-Mexico border, writing via X/Twitter: "Visited the southern border today to see the #BidenBorderCrisis firsthand as a deeply concerned citizen. The crisis at our southern border affects all 50 states. It’s time for Joe Biden to take this crisis seriously & Secure Our Border Now!"
Pence's ex-Homeland Security and Counterterrorism advisor Olivia Troye replied to the former vice president's comments, writing, "Dear Mike Pence: next time call your former Homeland Security Advisor, whom you very well know grew up in El Paso, TX. We could have had an honest discussion about the border, talked about the role that faith plays in a lot of the amazing people that live there, their dedication to helping migrants, asylum seekers, as well as refugees & how we can actually make a difference together."
Troye continued, "This is something I offered while you were the Vice President of the United States…It’s also something I felt strongly about when Trump’s hateful rhetoric led to a mass shooting in the Wal-Mart of my hometown, which you said you actually cared about."
"As someone who believed in the Republican Party for my entire life, it is appalling that this is a political talking point rather than an actual effort to secure the border—which was evident when Republicans refused to vote on Congressional legislation this year that would make a difference because Trump was worried it would 'benefit Biden.' You’re better than this."
NBC News reported Monday that Democrats "plan to force a vote Thursday on the bipartisan border security package" Republicans blocked two months ago.
The news outlet also notes "former President Donald Trump helped kill the legislation earlier this year and Republicans say they will block it again."
When Republicans rejected the package, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-NH) wrote in a statement, "Senate Republicans defeated the bill because it would be effective. And that doesn't make sense. Right? Why would that be? Why would Senate Republicans vote against a bipartisan border security bill that would have been effective at bringing order to the southwest border? The reason is this: Republicans have decided that they don't want to solve the problem at the border. Republicans have decided that they want this issue to be outstanding. They want the border to be chaotic. They want the border to be a mess, because it helps for their political purposes. It helps win an election."
