(TotalConservative.com) – Republican senators who previously supported a bipartisan border bill have now changed their minds, unifying to stop the bill from moving forward after Democrats pushed for a vote.
On Wednesday, May 22, Senate Republicans vowed to oppose the bipartisan border security bill the day before it was brought to the floor on Thursday, May 23, by Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky called the plan a gimmick and told President Joe Biden that the border crisis was his fault and that Republicans would reject the bill. McConnel previously touted the legislation as a “huge success.”
Schumer tried to underscore the building GOP resistance by moving forward with plans to vote on the bill on Thursday, which would put a cap on the number of immigrants permitted to claim asylum in the US. Many Republicans who once supported the bill, which was endorsed by the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Border Council, overwhelmingly voted against it.
Back in February, most Republicans already rejected the bill in a test vote of 49-50 because the border security measures were packaged with foreign aid for Israel, Ukraine, and other American allies. This time, it failed by a vote of 43-50 as more Republicans opposed it. The legislation needs 60 votes to move forward.
After the vote, Schumer said Democrats gave the GOP “a second chance to show where they stand” and that they made it clear they don’t “want to fix this” but would rather “show blind allegiance” to former President Donald Trump. The former president previously dismissed the bill and told Republicans not to compromise on border security. Trump said they should only accept a package if it meets all of their demands.
Trump called the bill “meaningless” and effectively put it to rest, even managing to sway McConnel to distance himself from it. The border will surely be a deciding issue for voters in November, and it was one of the central issues Trump campaigned on in 2016 that propelled him into the White House.
Copyright 2024, TotalConservative.com
