The White House criticized Republican lawmakers Wednesday for making the border crisis worse as Speaker Mike Johnson’s plans to lead other congressmen in a trip to the southern border.
Johnson and 60 other House Republicans are making a trip Wednesday to Eagle Pass, Texas, to address the border crisis. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden’s supplemental spending package, which will send funds to Ukraine and Israel, continues to be held up in Congress as lawmakers continue to weigh border security initiatives. As negotiations stall, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates blasted Republicans for worsening the border crisis. (RELATED: Karine Jean-Pierre Calls Border Crisis ‘Not Unusual’ As Record Numbers Of Migrants Cross Into US)
“Actions speak louder than words,” Bates said in a statement to Politico. “House Republicans’ anti-border security record is defined by attempting to cut Customs and Border Protection personnel, opposing President Biden’s record-breaking border security funding, and refusing to take up the President’s supplemental funding request.”
House Republicans broke for recess on Dec. 14 while funding for Ukraine, Israel and the border remained in limbo. Following Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, Biden announced a $106 billion supplemental package to give more than $61 billion in emergency funding for Ukraine, $14.3 billion aid for Israel and $13.6 billion to address the border crisis. Another $9.15 billion in aid tucked in the package would go to humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, “and other needs.”
The White House previously criticized Republican lawmakers for holding the funding for Ukraine up while negotiating the border. The administration warned Congress that without additional funding the United States will run out of resources to send Ukraine by the end of 2023.
US President Joe Biden shakes hands with Texas Governor Greg Abbott after Abbott handed him a letter outlining the problems on the southern border upon arrival at El Paso International Airport in El Paso, Texas, on January 8, 2023. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Biden took a swipe at Republicans for leaving town early rather than working to finish up spending negotiations. The president blasted the lawmakers for going on vacation during a “crisis,” though the president himself has also faced criticism done the same.
Top Biden officials took a trip to Mexico in December to meet about the ongoing border crisis but failed to announce new initiatives to help combat the increased migrant flow.
“After voting in 2023 to eliminate over 2,000 Border Patrol agents and erode our capacity to seize fentanyl earlier in 2023, House Republicans left Washington in mid-December even as President Biden and Republicans and Democrats in the Senate remained to forge ahead on a bipartisan agreement,” Bates continued in his statement to Politico.
Johnson responded to the White House’s criticism Wednesday, pushing the blame for the border crisis back on the president, the Hill reported.
“While the President requests more funds — not to stop illegal immigration — but to process more illegal immigrants through their ‘catch and release’ policy, he has undermined security at every turn,” Johnson said in a statement to the Hill.
“From his decision to rescind the Remain in Mexico policy to the widespread abuse of the parole and asylum systems, there is a direct line between this administration’s reckless policies and the record 300,000 illegal immigrants encountered at the Southern border last month,” Johnson added.