President Joe Biden said former President Donald Trump is the “only reason” the border isn’t secure, blaming his predecessor for the unpopularity of the bipartisan Senate bill that allocates funds to Ukraine, Israel and the southern border crisis.
The Senate unveiled a bill Sunday that would provide about $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, $14.1 billion to Israel and $20 billion towards solving the border crisis. Following the release of the bill, Republican lawmakers began to voice their frustration and displeasure with the piece of legislation. Biden in a Monday address said the bill appeared to be dead on arrival and pledged to let Americans know that Trump and Republicans were the “only reason” the border was not secure.
“Now all indications are that this bill won’t even move forward to the Senate floor. Why? A simple reason. Donald Trump,” Biden said. “Because Donald Trump thinks it is bad for him politically. Therefore [inaudible] the country he is not for it. He would rather weaponize this issue than actually solve it.”
“So for the last 24 hours, he’s done nothing, I’m told, but reach out to Republicans in the House and the Senate and threaten them to try to intimidate them to vote against this proposal. And looks like they’re caving,” Biden continued.
Top Republican lawmakers have been divided on the bill since it was released. Some argued the bill focuses too much on foreign issues rather than the U.S.’ own borders. Negotiations over the legislation, announced by Biden in October, had previously stalled for weeks as Congressional leadership debated border initiatives.
“Billions for humanitarian assistance, military support, research and development, and who knows what else – for UKRAINE,” Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna tweeted Sunday in a statement. “This bill reads like it was drafted in Kiev.”
“The proposed legislation does not meet most Americans’ standard of securing our border now. It doesn’t force the Biden administration to end its abuse of current law. It leaves in place a number of the Democrat-created incentives that are fueling the crisis,” Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso said Tuesday.
In December 2023, U.S. Border Patrol recorded more than 300,000 migrant encounters at the U.S. Southern border, the highest number on record. During the 2023 fiscal year, U.S. Border Patrol encountered more than two million migrants at the southern border, according to federal data.
Though Biden and his administration continue to blame Republicans for the ongoing border crisis, critics have instead pointed fingers at the president’s first day in office. Upon taking office, the president reversed several Trump administration border policies on Jan. 20, 2020, signing a series of executive orders. Biden’s very first executive orders revoked the previous president’s deportation initiatives and halted construction of the border wall.
While lawmakers wrestle with the latest piece of legislation, Biden hoped to convince them to change their minds during his Monday speech.
“But if the bill fails, I want to be absolutely clear about something. The American people are going to know why it failed. I’ll be taking this issue to the country. And the voters are going to know it is not just a mom— just at the moment we are going to secure the border and fund these other programs, Trump and the MAGA Republicans said no. Because they are afraid of Donald Trump.”
“Every day between now and November, the American people are going to know that the only reason the border is not secure is Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican friends.”