Topline
Former President Donald Trump urged Republicans to move forward with border legislation separate from aid to Ukraine in a Truth Social rant pushing the GOP to reject the long-awaited Senate legislation unveiled Sunday—imperiling months of negotiations as Republicans sought to tie foreign aid to stricter border controls.
Key Facts
Trump re-upped his fraught claim that President Joe Biden has the authority to “close the border now,” despite court rulings that have allowed Biden to end a number of more restrictive Trump-era immigration policies, including “Remain in Mexico” and the pandemic-era Title 42.
Trump also called the bill a political “gift” to Democrats and President Joe Biden during an election year, claiming it “absolves” Democrats of “the HORRIBLE JOB” they’ve “done on Immigration and the Border,” and “puts it all squarely on the shoulders of Republicans.”
He also suggested border legislation should be separate from foreign aid, contradicting Republicans who have made passage of Ukraine aid contingent on stricter border controls.
Trump’s latest push against the border bill comes after the Senate unveiled bipartisan legislation on Sunday that would allow the president to restrict the number of asylum applicants at ports of entry if illegal crossings exceed 5,000 per day on average, but still process at least 1,400 daily, while speeding up the asylum process.
What To Watch For
It’s unclear if the bill can pass the Senate, where it needs 60 votes to break the filibuster. A procedural vote is set to take place in the upper chamber as soon as Wednesday, and the outcome will be indicative of whether it has the support to move forward. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has declared the legislation “dead on arrival” in the lower chamber as he and other House Republicans have instead advocated for…
