House Republicans vowed to kill the new Senate’s bipartisan immigration bill. The bill aims to reduce illegal crossings along the southern border and provide aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.
“Any consideration of this Senate bill in its current form is a waste of time,” Speaker Mike Johnson said in a joint statement with Republican leaders. “It is dead on arrival in the House. We encourage the U.S. Senate to reject it.”
Senate Republicans and Democrats released the deal on Sunday after more than three months of talks and negotiations, and it includes significant border restrictions. If enacted, it would make it harder to seek asylum, expand detention capacity and close the border if more than an average of 5,000 migrants a day try to cross illegally in a week. It would also provide $60 billion in aid to Ukraine and $14 billion to Israel.
But Republicans have blasted the bipartisan effort, with former President Donald Trump and even Elon Musk campaigning against the bill.
“Only a fool, or a Radical Left Democrat, would vote for this horrendous Border Bill,” said Trump on Truth Social.
Left-wing Democrats have also criticized the bill, saying it contains failed Trump policies and would bring more chaos to the border. Others have expressed discomfort with the idea of sending more military aid to Israel without conditions and assurances that the weapons will be used in accordance with international law.
Republicans have criticized the bill by saying it would worsen the border situation and for granting “too much discretionary authority” to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whom Republicans are working to impeach as Secretary of Homeland Security.
Johnson and other Republicans have said they would accept the deal if it included restrictive Trump-era policies, such as a requirement that migrants who can’t fit into U.S. detention centers wait for their court dates in Mexico.
House Republicans have been criticized for trying to kill the bill because it would help President Joe Biden politically in this year’s elections.
“It’s irresponsible to say that Congress has to wait until a general election, because Trump is worried that he’s going to lose,” said Nikki Haley on Fox News.
Now, House Republicans are pushing a measure to send $17.6 billion in aid to Israel alone and impeach Mayorkas for failing to secure the border. Biden’s administration said he would veto the Israel-only aid bill.
