CNN Host Dana Bash went silent Sunday after South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem questioned what President Joe Biden has done for the border as the crisis continues.
Noem appeared on “State of the Union” to discuss the ongoing battle between Texas officials and the Biden Administration over the state’s border, as well as a pending potential deal in Congress. As concerns from GOP lawmakers have begun to circulate over the new deal due to potential legal loopholes, Bash asked the governor why Republicans seem apprehensive to agree to a deal, noting how important the issue is.
Noem stated that if Biden was “acting in good faith” then GOP lawmakers would be willing to discuss “immigration policies,” however, she emphasized that the president has the ability to take action without a deal. (RELATED: Biden Shifts Border Crisis Blame In New Statement)
“You just mentioned, this issue has been stalemated because of politics for decades. And maybe he [Biden] does have some abilities but the asylum process and the detention process. I mean, it is a mess. So why not at least fix that? Why not take yes for an answer?” Bash questioned.
“I think that he would have the ability to fix that, a broken immigration policy, if the President could show that he was acting in good faith. Make an announcement that you’re changing your policies, you’re reallocating resources, and going to start protecting the United States of America and you’d have Republicans coming down to the White House asking that — to be partners on fixing our immigration policies,” Noem stated.
“Instead, what we’ve got is this partisan bickering back and forth and no solutions while people invade our country. We’ve had almost 10 million people come into our country, and we’ve got a lot of people that have been on the terrorist watch list – dangerous criminals that are coming into the United States who do not love us, that we’re allowing to enter our country. It’s an unsafe situation and the president can be the one who stands up and shows leadership at this time. Change your policies. Build a wall. Secure the border, and then let’s fix the immigration policy. But we don’t have to compromise one to do the other.”
Bash then cut off the South Dakota governor to highlight that Biden was “negotiating” because it was what GOP lawmakers originally “wanted,” asking again why GOP member shouldn’t just “take the win.” Noem immediately pushed back questioning what Biden has done policy wise, emphasizing an alleged conservation she had with Biden Administration workers at the border. (RELATED: ‘It’s Foolish’: Alan Dershowitz Slams Biden For Border Crisis Response)
“Governor, President Biden is negotiating. He didn’t want to do any of this. He’s negotiating because this is what Republicans wanted them to do. So why not take the win?” Bash asked.
“What has he done?” Noem questioned as Bash remained silent.
“What has he done? He’s done nothing as far as actual policies, and actually using the tools that he has. I sat two days ago with people that work for him that said, ‘this President is tying our hands every single day. He does not let us do our job. We work for him, we work for the federal government and we hate it. We hate our jobs and we hate what’s happening to this country because he will not keep us safe.'”
Senate lawmakers have been continuously attempting to draft a new potential deal to address border crisis concerns, however, issues escalated this week between Texas authorities and the Biden Administration. As the battle between state officials and the federal government continues, Biden has expressed to lawmakers his desire to push through a deal in order to handle concerns.
As reports of what the potential deal could contain circulated this week, some GOP lawmakers have been vocal about possible legal loopholes for illegal immigrants. Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump additionally stated his concerns, emphasizing that GOP members should not take a deal unless it includes everything necessary to “shut down the invasion.”