Fox News’ Harris Faulkner laughed Tuesday after Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy jokingly suggested renaming Texas to “Ukraine” in order to receive financial aid.
The Senate voted 70-29 Monday to pass a more than $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Twenty-two Republicans voted alongside their Democratic colleagues in favor. House Republicans have indicated they will not pass the legislation due to a lack of tighter border restrictions.
Roy jokingly suggested that a name change might be Texas’ only chance at additional federal funds.
“Well first of all, I think I might submit a bill pretty soon that will rename Texas to Ukraine, then maybe this administration and even senators will focus on securing the border in the United States.”
“Oh my goodness,” Faulkner said jokingly. “It might take that.”
“Anybody that is sane and sees what’s happening at our southern border would know that you cannot fund foreign wars while our border is wide open and exposed to criminals, lawlessness and terrorists that are coming across the border,” Roy said. “We’re still feeling it in Texas, even though thanks to Governor Abbott and those that have been fighting down in Eagle Pass, most of the numbers are now heading to Arizona and California. But this is an ongoing problem. You know 7,000 crossed the other day, 139 of them were Chinese foreign nationals. That’s where the priority of the American people is, that’s where my priority is and I think that is where the priority is for Speaker Mike Johnson.”
“He was pretty clear yesterday that this abomination of a bill that came out of the Senate, that those 22 Republicans should not have voted for, that that bill will be dead when it comes to the House,” Roy continued.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said the bill would not gain support as it failed to address the crisis at the southern border.
Senate Republicans blocked a border bill Feb. 7 that would have appropriated $48 billion to Ukraine, nearly $16 billion to Israel and increase funds to hire more immigration judges and expedite asylum processing and deporting proceedings. The bill, however, also included a provision that wouldn’t require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to declare an emergency and close the border until the seven day average of border encounters reached 5,000 daily. The process would continue until the two-week average number of illegal entries decreased to 3,750 people per day. (RELATED: ‘It’s Our Job!’: GOP Rep Spars With Fox & Friends Host Over Border Bill)