House GOP unveils border bill as conservatives slam foreign aid measures
House GOP leaders on Wednesday introduced a new border security bill designed to appease conservatives who are up in arms that Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) foreign aid package excluded tougher measures to battle migration.
Johnson announced Wednesday morning that he was plowing ahead with sending aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan despite outspoken opposition from hard-line Republicans, many of whom were incensed that his plan excluded border security. For months, the Speaker had said that any assistance for Kyiv must be paired with legislation to address the situation at the southern border.
But in a change to his initial plan, the Speaker said he would move a separate border security bill as the House considered the foreign aid measures, a move that was largely viewed as a way to pacify the conservative anger. He said the border security bill would move under a separate procedural rule from the Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan measures.
The gambit, however, was met with sharp — and immediate — criticism from hard-line Republicans, who dismissed the new border bill as weak and part of a bad-faith effort by Johnson to satisfy the conservative concerns.
“That is a joke,” Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), the chair of the House Freedom Caucus, told reporters of the border bill. “That’s pretend. That’s theater. That’s noise.”
“It’s a theatrics, shiny object,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) echoed. “It’s the shiny object for Republicans that are saying we got to do something for the border.”
The House is expected to vote on the border bill in the coming days as part of Johnson’s plan to send aid to embattled U.S. allies. But even if it passes the House it will face a dead end in the Senate, where many of the provisions are non-starters among Democrats.
Johnson, nonetheless, is pitching the border bill as an “aggressive” measure that is instrumental to the broader conversation about the national security supplemental.
“We’re gonna push a very aggressive border security measure on the floor. It’s part of this whole process. All these things are intertwined,” he told reporters Wednesday afternoon. “If you’re gonna talk about national security, and this is a national security supplemental package, you have to begin at our own border. And that’s what we’ve been saying over and over and over.”
“I think it’s gonna be a popular measure, and I expect we’re gonna vote that through with a big, sadly I think it’ll be a partisan vote, but I believe every Republican will support it, and then we will go out and tell the American people we’re still fighting for you,” he later added.
The original legislation that the End the Border Catastrophe Act is based on — H.R. 2 — was immediately ignored by the Senate after the House passed the bill last May.
The new legislation largely mirrors that effort, teeing up a vote on another bill that would drastically limit asylum and also require building former President Trump’s border wall.
Beyond slicing away at asylum protections for those fleeing persecution, the bill also limits other pathways for legal migration to the U.S.
It also re-ups other Trump-era policies, including requiring reignition of the controversial Remain in Mexico program requiring migrants to await their asylum cases in Mexico that was rescinded by the Biden administration.
Immigration advocates at the time had described H.R. 2 as among the most extreme provisions to be seriously considered by the House in recent years.
The only text from H.R. 2 to be struck from the new version is a provision that aimed to stem the hiring of those not legally present in the U.S. It sliced from the latest version a provision that would have required employers to do more to verify someone was legally qualified to work in the U.S. before hiring them.
“We’re gonna put the key elements of H.R. 2, which is our legislation that House Republicans passed over a year ago; it’s been sitting on Chuck Schumer’s desk collecting dust as they mock it,” Johnson said.
“We’re gonna reintroduce that. End catch and release, reinstate Remain in Mexico, fix the broken asylum process, fix the broken parole process, it’s been abused, rebuild portions of the wall.”
Date: |
Filter
-
Senate eyes finish line for House-passed foreign aid package
Politico - Politics -
Johnson temporarily dodges ouster vote as House passes foreign aid
Conservative rebels are hoping the week-long recess will build support for their pending effort to boot the speaker.Politico - Politics -
Senate advances House-passed foreign aid package toward final passage
Politico - Politics -
Johnson temporarily dodges ouster vote as House passes foreign aid
Conservative rebels are hoping the week-long recess will build support for their pending effort to boot the speaker.Politico - Politics -
Johnson temporarily dodges ouster vote as House passes foreign aid
Conservative rebels are hoping the week-long recess will build support for their pending effort to boot the speaker.Politico - Politics -
House passes Israel cash, sending full foreign aid package to Senate
Politico - Politics - Israel -
White House OMB director on foreign aid, Key Bridge collapse and more
President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and other White House officials have been on the campaign trail touting the administration's economic achievements. However, Americans in several battleground states say they are not satisfied with the ...CBS News - Top stories -
Greene's bid to topple Johnson veers closer to backfiring
The Georgia Republican now has to make a choice: Either don't call the ouster vote, or force one and watch it fail. Both options risk hurting her politically.Politico - Politics -
House passes GOP antisemitism bill amid college unrest
The House passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act on Wednesday amid unrest on college campuses.ABC News - Top stories -
Greene's bid to topple Johnson veers closer to backfiring
The Georgia Republican now has to make a choice: Either don't call the ouster vote, or force one and watch it fail. Both options risk hurting her politically.Politico - Politics
More from The Hill
-
Georgia governor signs controversial Republican-backed bill requiring cash bail for more offenses
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (D) signed a controversial bill requiring cash bail for more offenses that require cash bail Wednesday, according to a press release from his office. Senate Bill 63 (SB 3) adds offenses including racketeering, sex ...The Hill - Politics -
JD Vance says he is 'skeptical' Pence's life was in danger on Jan. 6
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) said Wednesday he is “skeptical” that former Vice President Pence’s life was endangered during the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the Capitol. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked Vance on “The Source” whether the Ohio Republican had “any ...The Hill - Politics -
GOP hardliners use rare procedural move to block leadership-backed bill
A group of hardline Republicans joined with Democrats in executing a rare procedural gambit on Wednesday that blocked a bill from being voted on in its current form, marking a small but embarrassing blow for GOP leadership. Six Republicans joined ...The Hill - Politics -
Gaetz dubs House antisemitism bill a 'ridiculous hate speech bill'
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) labeled the House antisemitism legislation as a “ridiculous hate speech bill” ahead of the vote on Wednesday. The House approved a bill that aims to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses amid ongoing ...The Hill - Politics -
Biden to meet with families of fallen police officers in Charlotte
President Biden on Thursday will meet with families of the police officers who were killed in the line of duty in Charlotte, N.C. The president will travel to Charlotte Douglas International Airport to “pay his respects to the brave law ...The Hill - Politics - Joe Biden