Former President Donald Trump has once again sharply criticized the bipartisan border deal that is dividing Republicans in Congress, saying it was one of the “stupidest bills” he had ever seen.
Trump had previously called it a “ridiculous” border law online and said it was “nothing more than a sophisticated trap for Republicans to take the blame for what the radical left-wing Democrats have done to our border, just in time for our most important border.” Event of all time.” Choice. Don't fall for it!!!'
During an interview on Newsmax, Trump continued to repeat such claims, suggesting that the bill represents a “death wish” for the party in 2024.
“It's a trap for the Democrats.” It's a trap for the Republicans that it would be so stupid, so stupid to sign such a bill. “This bill cannot be signed,” Trump said.
“Not only that, but huge amounts of money are being drained from the city.” Billions and billions and billions of dollars. It's so bad at the border. Actually, it’s one of the worst — one of the stupidest bills I’ve ever seen.”
Former President Donald Trump once again sharply criticized the bipartisan border deal that has divided Republicans in Congress after negotiators announced the details
A group of migrants is processed by Border Patrol after illegally crossing the river near Eagle Pass, Texas
U.S. Border Patrol agents guard migrants crossing Shelby Park as they wait to be picked up for processing
During an interview on Newsmax on Monday, Trump continued to repeat claims that the bill represents a “death wish” for the party in 2024
Trump vehemently opposed the bill's provision that would allow the government to close the border if the number of daily crossings reaches 5,000.
The $118 billion bill, which combines border security with aid to Ukraine and Israel, is facing opposition from Trump and his allies who see it as weak, as well as from some Democrats and progressives who say it would gut the asylum process make and cause heavy human losses.
If it overcomes the long odds, the law would radically change the way asylum is handled at the border. Asylum, once an afterthought in politics, is now the biggest challenge at the border.
“Only a fool or a radical left-wing Democrat would vote for this terrible border bill that only grants closure authority after 5,000 encounters per day, even though we already have the right to close the border NOW, which is what needs to be done.” “This bill is a great gift to Democrats and a death wish for the Republican Party,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account on Monday.
“It takes the TERRIBLE JOB that Democrats have done on immigration and the border, unbundles it, and puts it all squarely on the shoulders of Republicans.”
“Don’t be STUPID!!!,” the former president continued. “We need a separate border and immigration law.” It should in no way be tied to development aid! The Democrats have broken immigration and the border. You should fix it.'
“The crisis has literally never been worse,” Biden said Monday, calling for action. He said the “gaping hole” in the country’s borders “will not heal itself.”
President Joe Biden speaks during a stop at No. 1 boba tea during a stop in Las Vegas on Monday
Even before the text was released, Trump called the idea of a 5,000 threshold “record material” and said supporting the package – which also includes $60 billion in war aid to Ukraine – was a “death wish” for Republicans.
At issue is a provision in the bipartisan package that would give the secretary of Homeland Security emergency authority to ban most people from entry if an average of more than 4,000 people a day try to enter the country illegally over the course of a week.
If the number reaches 5,000 or 8,500 try to enter illegally in a day, use of the authority would be mandatory.
The bill released by senators on Sunday would, among other things, make it more difficult to apply for asylum at the border, expand detention facilities and reduce the number of migrants.
If the proposal were to become law, the new authority could take effect almost immediately, as the number of border crossings exceeded 10,000 on some days in December, the highest month ever recorded for illegal border crossings. President Joe Biden has said he will use the authority to “close” the border.
Still, many Republicans say the number should be zero. And some have even suggested that the bill would actually allow 5,000 additional migrants per day or relax existing standards.
A group of migrants are processed by the border police after crossing the Rio Grande. The border has become the epicenter of a sensitive conflict between Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden administration
An aerial photo shows a group of immigrants trying to cross the Texas border despite increased security measures in Eagle Pass, Texas. As a precautionary measure, the Border Patrol has been removing migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border at Eagle Pass
The swift and vocal pushback from GOP lawmakers who have long called for tougher border measures has frustrated some members of their own party.
The backlash suggests the bipartisan bill has little chance of passage, especially in an election year. House Speaker Mike Johnson called it “dead on arrival,” and a new hashtag has emerged on the House Republicans’ official X account: #killthebill.
The Senate bill's three lead negotiators — Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut — have rejected all criticism of the bill. They emphasize that this would keep more people out instead of letting more people in – and that with certain numbers of illegal border crossings, migrants would no longer be able to apply for asylum at all.
The policy is similar to the one Trump first employed. Known as Title 42, it justified the rapid expulsion of migrants from the country in the name of containing the spread of COVID-19.
Lankford has repeatedly stressed that the emergency authority is “not designed to let 5,000 people in, but to close the border and move 5,000 people.”
After meeting with Republicans at the Capitol on Monday night, Lankford told reporters that as soon as he explained it, people understood it, “but it was said wrong so many times that people immediately came back to it: 'This can do 5,000 people in a day.' … “That’s just factually incorrect, but if you say it enough times it just rings true.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) helped negotiate a bipartisan immigration package that also includes U.S. support for Ukraine and Israel
Trump's anger came in the hours since negotiators announced details of their new bipartisan agreement that would give the administration new powers to “close” the border as crossings increase while also allocating billions to support allies Ukraine and Israel send.
Among those who most despised the deal was Utah Sen. Mike Lee, who even appeared to call for a change in his party's leadership after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell helped break the deal with Majority Leader Sen Charles Schumer to oversee.
McConnell, the longest-serving Republican leader in Senate history, survived a November 2022 leadership challenge by a 37-10 vote.
“This feels like an elaborate joke.” But it's not funny. Not a little. I can't understand how any Republican could think this is a good idea – or anything other than an absolute disaster. “We need new leadership – NOW,” he wrote on X.
“Senate leadership screwed this up — and screwed us,” he wrote in another post. Even though they refused for MONTHS to show us the bill they were supposedly negotiating on our behalf, they never had any doubts and insisted that we would be stupid and even unpatriotic if we did NOT support it. This is a disqualifying betrayal.”
Utah Senator Mike Lee used the bipartisan immigration bill to call for “new leadership.”
Lee called the deal “even worse than we thought”
Sen. Mike Lee is just one of the conservative Senate Republicans who pushed through the compromise in the hours after it was released
Former President Trump railed against the deal online before giving television interviews
That attack came amid criticism that House Speaker Mike Johnson and his allies scuttled the deal at Trump's behest to prevent President Joe Biden from delivering a political victory in a crucial election year.
Among those making those arguments was Majority Leader Charles Schumer, 73, who worked closely with McConnell, 81, on the deal as both leaders sought to advance funding for Ukraine and Israel.
“It took a long time – four months of arduous negotiations.” They went off the rails many times. “I even had to make a phone call at midnight,” said Schumer, who had already predicted success after a meeting at the White House last month.
“The majority of Republican senators know it's the right thing to do.” It's a compromise. I don't like everything about it – neither does McConnell. It's a compromise. “That's the only way to get important things done in the Senate,” he said, urging senators to “drown out the political noise of Trump and his minions and do what's right for America…History looks down on each of us.”
In a sign of the volatility of the issues, Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a longtime Schumer ally and former party leader, announced his own opposition Monday afternoon.
Senators Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) were also there.
The number of Republicans opposing the deal approached 20 as of Monday afternoon, nearly halfway to the 41 needed to kill the deal.
“The crisis has literally never been worse,” Biden said Monday, calling for action. He said the “gaping hole” in the country’s borders “will not heal itself.”
“This is a humanitarian and security crisis of historic proportions. “And Senate Republicans have insisted not just for months, but for years, that this urgent crisis requires action,” he said.