Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell congratulated President Trump after Trump’s gambit to force Mexico to adopt stiffer immigration policies paid off.
Republican senators were skeptical of the move when Trump initially threatened new tariffs on Mexico. GOP lawmakers debated whether Congress should override the president should the tariffs go into effect.
The debate proved moot, at least for now, after the White House and Mexico announced on Friday that the two sides had come to an agreement.
“I think the cold, hard reality is, even though almost none of my members were enthusiastic about the prospect of tariffs, you have to give the president credit — it worked,” McConnell told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Tuesday.
“The president deserves applause — not condemnation — for the outcome, which has a good chance of solving this crisis at the border,” McConnell said.
Trump has tabled the threat of tariffs but will use it again if Mexico’s promised reforms do not materialize or do not result in a marked difference in the flow illegal immigration entering the U.S. from its southern border.
….stem the tide of Migration through Mexico, and to our Southern Border. This is being done to greatly reduce, or eliminate, Illegal Immigration coming from Mexico and into the United States. Details of the agreement will be released shortly by the State Department. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 8, 2019
Neither side has released the agreement, but the deal appears to include Mexico sending 6,000 National Guard troops to its southern border to stem immigration coming into the country.
