Pro-migration Republican senators are facing challenges in reviving the border giveaway plan amid GOP divisions, establishment criticism, and increasing public opposition.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s comments have caused confusion and uncertainty within the party.
CNN’s Manu Raju posted, “Anger and confusion on Hill as Trump appears to have blown up delicate compromise on immigration — and with it, aid to Ukraine and Israel.”
LANKFORD on @LeaderMcConnell re: border
“I think he was laying out the politics. I definitely didn’t get that he was backing away at all.” pic.twitter.com/YmqMMwpVP1
— Alan He (@alanhe) January 25, 2024
Sen. Mitt Romney wrote, “Reading the confusion coming from the leader from the border bill puts a lot of question marks in my mind about where we’re going from here.”
“The ambiguity that was around for the last few hours has been clarified for all of us. [McConnell] is fully behind the border bill, fully behind the support for Ukraine, and is not going to let political considerations of any campaign stand in the way of his support … Leader McConnell removed any question about his support. He said he is fully supportive of the border bill as he indicated for the last several weeks,” explained Romney.
Sen. Chris Murphy said, “We don’t live in a world today in which one person inside the Republican Party holds so much power that they could stop a bipartisan bill.”
“I’m just gonna keep my head down — I’m working with [Republican] partners who want to deal,” he continued.
The Republican establishment is facing backlash, with Democrats blaming Donald Trump for the breakdown.
Chris Chmielenski, president of the Immigration Accountability Project said, “It allows him to say privately to his donors, ‘Listen, I want open borders, I want to expand legal immigration, illegal immigration, all of the above, let’s bring in more.’ But at the same time, he can go to the Republican base [via media outlets], and say, ‘Yeah, listen — I didn’t say that I’m in favor of this’ without saying [publicly] that he’s opposed to it.”
Sen. J.D. Vance said, “It’s hard to say what leadership is thinking.”
“There’s a chance that [McConnell is] signaling to Democrats that they have to budge a whole lot more than they have so far … [and] there’s a chance that he sees the political writing on the wall, that the package just doesn’t have a great future,” added the Ohio Republican.
Sen. John Thune said, “I think, for now at least, there’s still an attempt being made to try and reach a conclusion that would satisfy a lot of Republicans.”
“We’re at a critical moment and we’ve got to drive hard to get this done [and] if we can’t get there, then we’ll go to plan B,” he explained.
Sen. John Cornyn said, “What he was talking about was what he saw as sort of the political challenges of moving forward.”
“He wasn’t waving a white flag on border security at all,” insisted the senator.
Sen. James Lankford said, “He’s not making any recommendation, he’s not backing away from this.”
“I think he was laying out the politics — I definitely didn’t get that he was backing away at all,” he continued.
The leaked border deal is causing controversy as it is seen to accelerate the flow of illegal migrants and provide more incentives for foreign workers, leading to concerns about its impact on American citizens.
Sen. Mike Rounds revealed that he was “personally fully engaged in both the border and getting [funding for] Ukraine and Israel together.”
Sen. Todd Young said, “Anything that interrupts that negotiation I think would be tragic. … I hope no one is trying to take this away for campaign purposes.”
Sen. Murphy added, “This is down to a political decision for Republicans as to whether they want to solve this problem or whether they want to keep it available for Trump to use it as a wedge.”
Romney said, “The American people are suffering as a result of what’s happening at the border.”
“Someone running for president not to try and get the problem solved. as opposed to saying, hey, save that problem. Don’t solve it. Let me take credit for solving it later,” explained the senator.
The issue of Biden’s border policies has become a significant concern in U.S. politics.
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