WASHINGTON – Senate negotiators have been working on a bipartisan border security measure for months, but former president Trump is attempting to sink it by adding more pressure on Republicans to reject it.
This is only the most recent instance of the ex-president trying to use his influence inside the Republican Party to sway Republican lawmakers, even though he does not have the official authority to dictate party policy. Even if many Republican senators are now in favor of the border security pact, Trump’s outspoken opposition to it will make it difficult for Republicans to back it.
Several conservative border demands would supposedly be approved under the still-unfinalized plan. As part of the agreement, the United States would get $106 billion in funding for Israel and Ukraine, among other domestic and international objectives linked to national security, in return for tougher asylum requirements and expanded deportation authorities.
Trump reportedly told Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham that he was “extremely adamant” about his opposition to the agreement, had pressured House Speaker Mike Johnson to reject it, and was against the deal during their discussion on Wednesday night.
Before the bill language is released, Johnson said, “He and I have been talking about this pretty frequently,” adding that he would wait to pass judgment on the accord. On the other hand, “it doesn’t sound good at the outset.”
On Wednesday, Trump said on Truth Social that he is against a border deal “unless we get EVERYTHING needed to shut down the INVASION” at the southern border. Johnson, he said, would “only make a deal that is PERFECT ON THE BORDER.” He expressed his certainty in this prediction.
Republican senator from South Dakota held the opinion that Trump’s remarks are “definitely not helpful” on Thursday. “But ultimately, we must all act under our moral compass to resolve the serious crisis at our southern border, especially since we are in a position of exceptional bargaining power.”
Arguments presented by Republicans in the Senate on the border accord
Democrats will be hesitant to back more limitations under Trump and will have an incentive to address migration, according to several Republicans in the Senate, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has said that this is a rare opportunity to gain conservative border policy. Fewer than one-third of Americans (32%) expressed support for Biden’s approach to the border crisis in a recent CBS News survey.
However, this is precisely why several Republicans in the House have spoken out against the package: they fear it would pave the way for further assistance to Ukraine, which many people are against, and it might boost Biden’s reelection chances while removing a politically charged topic from Trump’s campaign platform.
The Republicans in the Senate are now claiming that the package is more conservative than anything they could obtain under Trump’s administration and that this would help his campaign.
“I don’t think it’s going to be like turning off the spigot tomorrow if we were to pass something,” said Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, a Republican. This will last for a long time, even into the election. A plethora of other resources may also be used… I don’t believe it’s necessary to threaten yourself and demand that you do anything.
Republican senator from South Dakota Mike Rounds has said that Democrats would not support conservative border policies “unless they are forced to.”
The fact that Trump is discussing the deal with Johnson “doesn’t surprise me. I believe that the next government will want these resources if it differs from the Biden administration.
Senate leaders are pressing for a vote on the bipartisan measure this week, and Johnson has not formally rejected it. The prospect of a successful border policy this year is already bleak, but he has made it clear that he would only back a proposal that closely follows the House Republicans’ extreme border measure. This plan did not gain any support from Democrats in the House and is very unlikely to survive in the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats.
The GOP’s reaction to Trump
Trump has made frequent displays of his power inside the party he transformed during his first time in office before stepping down at the start of 2021.
Many Republicans severed ties with Trump and criticized his inaction in quelling the violence that broke out on January 6, 2021, when a crowd of his followers stormed the Capitol in response to his repeated assertions that he had won the election despite the absence of proof.
While seven Republican senators voted for his conviction, only ten Republicans in the House voted to impeach him.
Since then, sentiments have changed and Trump’s influence inside the party has increased. He had mixed results in the 2022 midterms when he ran against lawmakers he believed hadn’t been faithful enough.
He has provided his opinion on several congressional campaigns, notably the one to succeed Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker. To further his interests or punish his opponents, he has incited his followers to do things like impeach Joe Biden or risk being “immediately primaried.” More than half of the caucus members endorsed him before the Iowa Caucuses, and he accomplished this by cultivating ties with GOP members and individually requesting their support.
Currently, he is still widely considered the party’s best candidate for president. In the first presidential nominating battle of the election season, Iowa, he received over half of the votes; this week, he will most certainly do the same in New Hampshire.
When asked about his presidential candidacy, Rounds told reporters on Thursday that he is the party’s frontrunner. “So, without a doubt, people here will show respect to the foremost presidential candidate.”
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