EXCLUSIVE — Democrats are attempting to embarrass House Republicans over their decision to block the Senate-negotiated border bill despite it being endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council, the union representing border agents.
In a statement excoriating House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Democratic National Committee spokesman Alex Floyd underscored how the speaker himself described border security as “a job for Congress” as recently as last year.
“But now he thinks he knows more about border security than the Border Patrol agents who are asking Republicans to stop weaponizing this issue and work across the aisle to follow through on their own promises,” Floyd told the Washington Examiner Wednesday in a statement.
Floyd added, “By shamefully dismissing Border Patrol agents’ endorsement of this bipartisan legislation and crudely suggesting that their support is just a scheme for personal gain, Johnson is making it clear that his loyalties lie with Donald Trump’s political ambitions, not the American people.”
Floyd was alluding to an appearance Johnson made on Fox News this week, during which anchor Laura Ingraham asked him whether he had reconsidered his approach to the border bill after the National Border Patrol Council’s endorsement.
“Well, I think it does have something to do with the pay structure that’s in the bill,” Johnson said. “I understand that they’re desperate for measures that will assist.”
But Raj Shah, Johnson’s spokesman, emphasized how the National Sheriffs’ Association had condemned the bill for simplifying “the process of entry at the expense of border security” and Biden’s poor polling regarding immigration. The National Sheriffs’ Association expressed specific concerns related to the bill’s proposed reforms to asylum and parole programs.
“President Biden has abused his executive authority on at least 64 occasions to open the border and create the massive humanitarian crisis we see today,” Shah said. “House Republicans passed the Secure the Border Act nine months ago, and rather than push for passage, the president threatened a veto. The more President Biden talks about the border, the more the American people don’t trust him.”
“It is long past time for the president and Congress to take responsibility for the safety and
security of the American people,” National Sheriffs’ Association President Greg Champagne said in his organization’s letter.
One day earlier, the White House criticized Johnson and other congressional Republicans for not being able to withstand a pressure campaign from former President Donald Trump to stop the bill, contending November’s election should determine how lawmakers respond to the border crisis as a record number of illegal immigrants cross into the country.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“It’s time for Republicans to choose: Will they support the Border Patrol union who have endorsed this bipartisan agreement, or will they continue to play games with our national security?” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre asked. “Will they show some spine and do what they know is right, or will they put partisan politics ahead of our national security?”
“As the Border Patrol union put it, this bill is a step in the right direction and is better than status quo,” she said. “Republicans should listen to them and pass this bipartisan agreement.”
