Speaker Johnson Just Sealed His Fate After Sticking It To Republicans
According to a spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), it's improbable that Congress will pass any legislation this year incorporating border security measures.
The spokesperson anticipates that the Republican endeavor to enact border security reform in the 118th Congress will likely remain unfulfilled.
House Republicans have passed several laws related to immigration enforcement and border security, as per Johnson's office.
However, none of these bills have been taken up by the Democrat-controlled Senate.
There's still significant disagreement between Republicans and Democrats on this issue, according to the spokesperson.
Meanwhile, any substantial changes to border policy are seen as contingent upon President Donald Trump regaining the White House in 2019, as per House GOP leaders' expectations.
"House Republicans have passed multiple border security bills – including our signature Secure the Border Act, Laken Riley Act, and Consequences for Social Security Fraud Act – which have been ignored by the Democrat Senate and proves their unseriousness when it comes to dealing with the border catastrophe," stated Johnson’s office.
“Democrats have only proposed measures for political cover that won’t fix the problem, and Republicans are not going to let the White House accept anything less than transformative change.”
“House Republicans understand that the only way to truly solve the problem is to elect President Trump in November.”
This follows the speaker's convening of an extraordinary Saturday meeting to approve his $95 billion foreign aid plan.
While the large bipartisan majority indicates Johnson's success in his relatively new leadership role, conservatives are angered by the decision.
Johnson has faced increasing criticism from Republicans for compromising on crucial bills.
Many are upset that Johnson endorsed over $61 billion in aid for Ukraine without pushing for legislation regarding border security.
“The only path forward for substantive border legislation was to leverage the Biden regime’s push for more Ukraine aid,” Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) wrote on X last week.
For months, Johnson has maintained that President Biden could address the border situation through executive action.
However, the White House has resisted calls for a permanent solution, asserting that Congress must act.
The announcement from Johnson’s office on Tuesday comes amid doubts about whether the speaker recently discussed executive action on the border with Biden.
During the upcoming major legislative battle over government financing for fiscal year 2025, House Republicans may seek to block Senate immigration legislation.
Republicans in both chambers argue that the border measures included in such legislation would only formalize the problematic policies already in place under the Biden administration, which led to an earlier failure to pass foreign aid alongside a bipartisan border security agreement.
Republicans have urged Democrats to support their Secure the Border Act, but Democrats have declined.
The GOP’s immigration policies from the Trump administration are being criticized by the Left as nonsensical.