President Biden took the border fight directly to former President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday, accusing his predecessor and challenger of undermining a bipartisan immigration deal with rough politics at the expense of national security. He criticized the current president.
After months of largely staying out of the fray, Biden spoke out forcefully, calling on Republicans in Congress to “show some spine” and stand up to Trump. But he effectively conceded that the deal negotiated over months was doomed and vowed to make it an issue in his campaign against the opposition.
“All signs point to this bill not even making it to the Senate floor,” Biden said in a televised address from the White House. “Why? It's simple. Donald Trump. Because Donald Trump doesn't think this is good for him politically.”
The president said Trump intends to “weaponize this problem rather than actually solve it” and is relying on Republicans to stop it. “It looks like they're digging a cave,” he added. “Frankly, we owe it to the American people to show our backs and do what we know is right.”
The Republican decision to reject the bipartisan border deal they had previously demanded not only paralyzed the immigration debate, but also jeopardized security assistance to Ukraine and Israel that came with the $118 billion measure, leaving behind What was thought to be the best means of support was closed off. America's ally in trouble.
The impasse has raised questions about whether Congress can salvage the emergency relief package and, if so, how. Chairman Mike Johnson sought to advance aid to Israel alone by pushing for a separate $17.6 billion measure. But the measure failed to muster the two-thirds votes needed for passage Tuesday night, facing strong resistance from far-right Republicans, Democrats and Mr. Biden who threatened to veto it.
As a result, the dysfunction of Congress became clear. House Republicans spent the day unsuccessfully trying to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas on charges that he intentionally refused to enforce border laws rather than pursuing border enforcement as he had previously called for. . A few Republicans criticized the move as a stunt, but Johnson failed to muster a majority to impeach him in an embarrassing setback.
The chaos and discord on Capitol Hill, punctuated by the president's sharp speech at the White House, underscored how much this year's presidential election is already shaping the debate in Washington, nine months before the vote. In effect, two presidents, one current and one former, are clashing over some of the most pressing issues facing the United States, each seeking to shape the country's direction even before voters make their choices in November. are competing.
Biden has avoided even using Trump's name for most of his presidency, referring to him only by shorthand such as “ex-boyfriend,” but in recent weeks he has spoken more directly to the former president. He seems to be showing more and more interest in confronting them. in a speech on Tuesday.
The president privately complained that the initial draft of his speech did not go far enough in attacking Mr. Trump and wanted it to be strengthened, according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Then, just before he went in front of cameras to give his speech more than an hour later than originally scheduled, he and his aides tried a harsher tone.
“I understand that the former president is desperately trying to block this bill because he has no interest in solving the border problem,” Biden said. “He wants to use political issues against me.”
“Republicans have to make a decision,” he added. “Who do they serve? Donald Trump or the American people?”
He said the bipartisan agreement combines “the fairest and most humane reforms” to immigration laws and “the toughest reforms to secure our borders” at a time of record numbers of illegal immigrants. Therefore, he said, it was a “victory for the United States.” To make his case, he has sought to make his point by using typically Republican organizations such as the Wall Street Journal's op-ed page, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the National Border Security Council, a labor union that supported Trump in 2016 and 2020. He cited support from favorable institutions.
“If this bill fails, I want to be absolutely clear about something,” Biden said. “The American people are going to know why we failed. I'm going to bring this issue home.”
The reason for this is fear of the Republican front-runner. “They're afraid of Donald Trump,” Biden said. “Every day from now until November, the American people will learn that the only reason our border is unsafe is because of Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican friends.”
The president is late for the debate. Although he has supported bipartisan negotiations, he has largely distanced himself personally from any high-profile public battles over a deal. His aides said he wanted to avoid complicating negotiations by making the story about himself. But some Democrats were frustrated that he didn't play a more prominent role.
The president's speech was also aimed at some Democratic lawmakers who have already criticized provisions in the border bill that would tighten rules for immigrants to obtain asylum in the United States. If Democrats vote against the bill, it could make it more difficult for Mr. Biden to frame his party as a solution-seeking party in the face of Republican intransigence.
Trump fired back at Biden after the president's speech. “The United States does not need a 'border' bill that does nothing to stop illegal immigration,” Trump spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said in a statement. “We need a president who uses executive authority to close the border. Joe Biden clearly refuses to do that, but President Trump will get it done from day one.”
Republicans are lagging behind Mr. Trump, including some who originally supported the bill, which includes measures to strengthen border security, but also protects illegal immigrants already in the country. It does not include any provisions that Democrats have historically argued would provide a path to citizenship for immigrants or protect illegal immigrants. Something that was brought to me when I was a child.
The bill would make it harder for immigrants to apply for asylum and speed up the processing of cases that currently can take years. It would also expand federal detention facilities, allow for the hiring of more asylum and border workers, and effectively close the border if encounters with immigrants entering the country illegally reach an average of 5,000 people a day. is also required. Critics on the right complained that not enough was achieved.
“Joe Biden will never enact new laws and refuses to use the tools we already have to end this crisis,” Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 3 Republican, said Tuesday. ” he said. “I cannot vote yes on this bill. Americans will look to the next election to end the border crisis.”
Sen. Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and minority leader who initially supported the deal, said at a press conference that his meeting had “a very robust discussion about whether this product should become law. He said that he was affected by the following: Johnson was declared “dead on arrival” in the House of Commons.
“The Speaker has made it very clear that this will not become law,” McConnell said. Asked whether he misjudged his fellow Republicans, Mr. McConnell said: “I followed the instructions of the conference that insisted in October that we address this issue. In fact, it's our side that wanted to address the border issue. We started it. Obviously, with a Democratic president, With a Democratic Senate, our negotiators had to deal with them.”
Mr. Johnson supported Senate Republicans' reversal on the border deal. “He may be on life support in the Senate,” he told reporters. “We welcome that development.”
Biden argued that Republicans are not only sacrificing compromises on the border, but also abandoning Ukraine during the war with President Vladimir V. Putin's Russia.
“I can't leave now,” he said, wearing a tie with the blue and yellow stripes of the Ukrainian flag. “That's Putin's bet. Supporting this bill is going against him. Opposing this bill is playing into his hands.”
But the harsh reality was that the once-strong bipartisan consensus on aid for Ukraine was fraying. In an unprecedented letter, a group of U.S. ambassadors to the Indo-Pacific region on Monday urged Congressional leaders to ensure passage of legislation that includes aid to Taiwan, saying America's confidence in its strategic partner is at stake. requested.
For months, many in and outside the White House have been following the conventional wisdom that if we combine the will of a small number of like-minded Congressional leaders, the National Security Committee Chairman, and the President, we can get across the finish line. It believed it was enough to push for new funding for Ukraine. .
But a restive Republican electorate is adamantly opposed to sending more taxes to Ukraine, and rank-and-file Republicans, especially members of the House of Representatives with a minority majority, are vigorously opposed to the move. .
On Tuesday morning, Rep. Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida and a Trump ally, posted on social media after reports indicated there was no clear path for Congress to approve aid to Ukraine and Israel. The media was overjoyed. He quoted a line from the movie Apocalypse Now: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning!”
Report contributor: katie rogers, Erica L. Green, Karl Hulse, Karon Demirdjian, Zoran Kanno Youngs and Michael D. Shear.
