Senate Republicans chastised Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats for reviving a “sham” border bill that had already been rejected by the GOP conference for another test vote this week.
A group of Republican senators, led by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, held a press conference Wednesday as they prepared for the Senate to reconsider the border bill.
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“This bill is worse than doing nothing,” argued Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., citing multiple concerns with the Democrat-backed package.
He pointed out that, rather than hardening the border, the plan would “more efficiently encounter, process, and disperse illegal migrants,” something the Wisconsin Republican deemed unhelpful.
Several Republican senators stated that President Biden now has all of the authorities needed to reinforce and secure the southern border, but he is unwilling to do so.
In fact, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., stated that “they bragged about undoing” previous President Trump’s border measures through executive action.
The senators also chastised their Democratic colleagues for neglecting to consider H.R. 2, a House-backed border bill that satisfies Republican demands. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., described the proposal as a “great solution” that Democrats are hesitant to engage in.
Marshall asserts that the Democrats’ attempt to portray Americans as “stupid” will not persuade Americans.
“They see the blood on Democrats’ hands,” he stated.
Schumer’s desire to maintain the Senate majority and safeguard some vulnerable incumbents prompted Blackburn to reintroduce the bill to the floor this week. She described it as an “election year political stunt” designed to give the party the impression of caring about the border and taking action to solve it.
In floor remarks on Wednesday, Schumer previewed the bill’s consideration on Thursday, saying, “The only way we are going to fix the border is through bipartisan legislation.”
The majority leader lambasted H.R. 2, which Republicans urged him to take up instead, calling it “a very partisan bill.”
“Our bipartisan border bill represented a genuine opportunity—in fact, the biggest chance in decades—to address border security. “To make a law, not just to make a political point,” he stated.
We expect the measure to fail in a test vote on Thursday. It initially failed to get 60 votes on a critical procedural vote in February, putting its inclusion in a foreign aid package at risk. Republicans are now preparing to oppose the bill again, with additional Democratic lawmakers joining them.
Democrats are facing one of the toughest Senate election maps in years, with five incumbents running for re-election in some of the most competitive seats in the country. Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Bob Casey, D-Penn., Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., are all vying for reelection in swing and red states.
