House Majority Whip Tom Emmer on Saturday claimed that President Biden is only interested in discussing border security, “because it has now become a political liability for the White House.”
“You’ve got an administration now that since they took office more than three years ago, they have completely opened the southern border through some 64 executive actions,” Emmer told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto. “They effectively undid all of the work that had been done by the previous administration to seal the border. You’ve got a record number. Over 300,000 came across the border in December.”
He also called claims that former President Trump has asked Republicans not to back a bipartisan Senate approved border deal false and is a narrative from someone who, “wants to give cover to the [Biden] administration.”
He said Republicans want to see the text of the bill to make sure that, “what we do on the southern border is a substantive fix, not just words.”
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House Majority Whip Tom Emmer said that President Biden is only interested in the border because it’s a “political liability” for him. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Emmer posited that reinstating Trump’s Remain in Mexico policy would stop “70% of the flow across our Southern Border overnight,” adding that “catch and release” should also be removed.
After Cavuto pointed out that some conservatives have suggested, “some deal is better than no deal,” Emmer said, “The only reason President Biden is even interested in discussing this issue is because it has now become a political liability for the White House.”
Emmer balked at a border security statement the president released on Friday that said the proposed bill would give him “emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed,” which he said he would do right after signing it.
“If you’re giving the president additional parole authority to admit up to 50,000 people a year, if you’re doing the 5,000 plus one on the border over a certain period of time and giving them discretion and if you’re not ending catch and release, if you’re not restoring Remain in Mexico, I’m going to have a very difficult time getting the votes that are necessary even if it comes to the floor,” Emmer explained.
“Donald Trump secured the border when he was in the White House, Neil,” he added. “This administration has undone all of the great work that was done.”
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House Speaker Mike Johnson also suggested on Friday that the bill could be “dead on arrival.”