President Biden blamed former President Donald Trump for increasing opposition to the Democratic Party’s border security bill.
Biden claimed during a Tuesday press conference that Trump was intentionally sabotaging the bill from behind the scenes.
“For much too long, as you all know, the immigration system has been broken, and it’s long past time to fix it. That’s why, months ago, I instructed my team to begin negotiations with a bipartisan group of senators to seriously and finally fix our immigration system.”
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act in the State Dining Room of the White House on February 6, 2024 in Washington, DC. President Biden urged Congress to pass the Senate-negotiated $118.3 billion deal which would provide funding for Ukraine and Israel as well as national border security measures. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“Now, all indications are this bill won’t even move forward to the Senate floor. Why? A simple reason: Donald Trump. Because Donald Trump thinks it’s bad for him politically,” Biden said. “So for the last 24 hours, he’s done nothing, I’m told, but reach out to Republicans in the House and the Senate and threaten them and try to intimidate them to vote against this proposal. And looks like they’re caving.”
Republican opposition to the Senate’s bipartisan deal began with a trickle on Sunday night before turning into an avalanche of criticism by late Monday.
Democrats have accused Republicans of going back on their own request for border policy changes in exchange for supporting aid to Ukraine. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said GOP opposition to the deal, particularly in the Senate, is a “dramatic transformation in Republican thought.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents instruct immigrants on separating important personal items from items to be discarded at a field processing center near the U.S.-Mexico border in Lukeville, Arizona. (John Moore/Getty Images)
“You know, there’s more work to get this done, over the finish line. And I want to be clear: doing nothing is not an option. Republicans have to decide,” Biden said Tuesday. “For years, they said they want to secure the border. Now they have the strongest border bill this country has ever seen. We’re seeing statements about how many oppose the bill now.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Tuesday that House Republicans “welcome” the dysfunction wrought in the Senate over its border security and supplemental aid bill.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., criticized the Senate’s bipartisan $118 billion border security and foreign aid package after the text of the agreement was released. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Johnson has made no secret of his opposition to the bipartisan deal, declaring it “dead on arrival” multiple times since its release on Sunday night, including during House GOP leaders’ regular weekly press conference.
“Republicans simply cannot vote for the bill in good conscience, and that is why I declared it dead on arrival. And it looks like right now it may be in some jeopardy, it may be on life support in the Senate,” the speaker said.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
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