By Wonderwall.com Editors
5:00pm PST, Jan 31, 2024
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For weeks, a legislative package that addresses security on the United States' southern border and also provides funding for Ukraine and other allies has been in negotiations in the Senate. It looks like that bill is now DOA after presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told senators in January to sink it because he wants to campaign on those issues. (It also appeared that House Speaker Mike Johnson had no plans to bring the bill to the floor.)
Soon after, several lawmakers confirmed that Trump wanted the bill dropped. Many Republican and Democratic legislators publicly reacted to his request to toss the bill, with some openly defying the former POTUS's request.
Keep reading to see what they had to say…
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"I think the border is a very important issue for Donald Trump. And the fact that he would communicate to Republican senators and congresspeople that he doesn't want us to solve the border problem because he wants to blame Biden for it is is really appalling. But the reality is that we have a crisis at the border, the American people are suffering as a result of what's happening at the border, and someone running for president ought to try to get the problem solved as opposed to saying, 'Hey, save that problem. Don't solve it. Let me take credit for solving it later.'" —Sen. Mitt Romney
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"We want to fix it. They want to run on it. They want a political issue to run on in November… The system is broken and it needs to be fixed and we have offered a solution, and real leaders ought to lead on this, meaning not play politics with it but work with us to fix the problem." —Vice President Kamala Harris via "Next Question with Katie Couric"
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"We've seen it time and time again. Republicans care more about scoring political points and blaming Democrats than actually securing our border and fixing our immigration system. We need to do our jobs for the American people, not run interference for Donald Trump." —Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto
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"There will be no perfect deal. … The solution … will require a Trump presidency. Between now and then we could do some things that will make the border more secure." —Sen. Lindsey Graham via CNN
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"A 'deal' will allow Biden to pretend he's doing something about the border but it won't solve the problem. If he won't even enforce our existing law he is NOT going to enforce even tougher ones." —Sen. Marco Rubio
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"They don't want a deal, period, full stop. They don't want a deal. They don't want to make this a quote unquote campaign win for Joe Biden. It says everything you need to know about the fraud that they're perpetuating on the issue of the border. They want to make this a political shill… They won't touch it. They don't want to solve it. They want to use it for political purposes. I say this as a border state governor: No one has to introduce me to this issue with the largest port in the Western Hemisphere in California. We live this. I think it is a disgrace what the Republican Party is doing, what Donald Trump is doing. This is hidden in plain sight. Trump sent out a tweet or Truth or whatever saying kill it. These guys are so weak. It's so pathetically weak. This Republican party. The new speaker said, 'Oh yes sir, what else would you like us to do?'" —Gov. Gavin Newsom via MSNBC
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"We all know how dangerous the situation is at the border. As I've said, the Biden administration deserves real criticism for the fact they haven't secured the border. But now for the Republican leader to be saying, 'Well, we're not gonna take any action because Trump doesn't want us to.' That confirms what everybody's frustrations are about politics today. It's just really, really cynical and sad that that's the position they're taking." —former Rep. Liz Cheney
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"If someone is running for president and is trying to actively undermine governance, that's bad. Is it really better to have 10,000 people crossing a day illegally or 5,000? Clearly it's 5,000. So somebody who is trying to defeat legislation, all in the name of running for office? That is irresponsible." — Sen. Bill Cassidy
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"I don't doubt that [Donald Trump] wants a perfect deal, so do I, but we've got to figure out how to do something right now to get done as much as we can possibly get done." —Sen. James Lankford via CNN
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"No one has seen the border deal, and even its advocates admit it will do little to secure the border immediately. Blaming Donald Trump or any Republican for killing this deal is political malpractice. When people call us 'controlled opposition' this is exactly what they mean." —Sen. JD Vance
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"We're in a unique time where we've never had a border package this substantial, this serious in front of the United States Congress… This is the time in which it can pass. This is the time in which it should pass. It is attached to a priority for people on both parties… We're at a point where senators get to decide whether or not they want to take the package that we've crafted. This is a very serious border package that makes meaningful differences to border policy." —Sen. Kyrsten Sinema
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"I just reject the idea that we should reserve a crisis for a better time to solve it. What's interesting to me is there are a lot of angry people out there, and that's why the border crisis is the No. 1 issue for voters. I don't see how we have a better story to tell when we missed the one opportunity to fix it and we go and say, 'We'd love to have fixed it but it was election season so I thought I'd wait," Sen. Kevin Cramer told CNN.
He later added of Donald Trump, "He's probably thinking about Biden victories, and he's right in that sense. If Joe Biden suddenly got religion and supported a border deal [reducing the] flow of immigration, it'd be good for him politically."
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"I hope we don't live in a world today which one person inside the Republican party holds so much power that they can stop a bipartisan bill." —Sen. Chris Murphy via CNN
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"Republican Senator Mitt Romney is correct. Donald Trump doesn't care about America. He only cares about himself." —Rep. Ted Lieu
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"Do you believe @TheDemocrats actually want a border deal? No. They want to destroy the fabric of America." —Sen. Tommy Tuberville
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"I could probably go through any number of things that Biden is saying that are not constructive when he's on the campaign trail, but that's the nature of campaigns. So I'm not going to criticize President Trump or his positions. Based on what I've seen and based on the work that James Lankford has put in, it goes far enough for me. If anyone's intellectually honest with themselves, they all know these would be extraordinary tools for President Trump." —Sen. Thom Tillis via HuffPost
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"We're at a critical moment and we've got to drive hard to get this done. If we can't get there, we'll go to Plan B. But for now, at least, there are still attempts being made to reach a conclusion." —Sen. John Thune
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"It is sad that one person can stop the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House from moving ahead on bipartisan legislation to address this. Republicans have been saying 'There's a crisis, there's a crisis, there's a crisis, let's act now.' Now they're saying, 'Let's wait for President Trump to get reelected and we can address next January.' It's something we need to address right now… We're gonna regret not doing something at this moment." —Rep. Henry Cuellar via CNN
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"Anything that interrupts that negotiation would be tragic." —Sen Todd Young
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"The truth is not complicated. President Biden has the ability to secure our border. He chooses not to. The 'border deal' is failing because it is full of bad policies that will make the situation worse." —Sen. Mike Lee
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"I want a negotiation that will actually secure the border, where they can't weasel out of it, they can't drive a semi-truck through loopholes that are created in it," Sen. Ron Johnson told reporters, via NBC News. "What Senate leadership hasn't been able to describe is how the current negotiation, the elements that have been laid out for us, how that actually would work."
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"Each border state, each governor, has the ability, and frankly, the duty, the duty to the citizens of their state and of this country to secure the border on their own. We can't rely on the federal government." —Kari Lake via Clay & Buck
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"You have to make hard choices sometimes in politics and in life. And here the question is, 'Do you want to get something that will help us stem the tide of humanity coming across the border and drugs? Or do you want to get nothing?'" —Sen. John Cornyn
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"I'm encouraging President Trump to oppose the contours of the Senate deal such that I've seen it" — Rep. Matt Gaetz
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"I really think that if you want to change what is happening with the border, you are going to have to change administrations" –Sen. Josh Hawley
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"Securing our border is absolutely imperative and assisting Ukraine as it degrades the army of one of our greatest adversaries is also imperative." —Sen. Susan Collins via CNN
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"I was in a meeting with Congressional leadership and the chairs and the ranking members of the committees. I heard [President Biden] say in that meeting three times, 'I will do a big deal. I want to move on the border.' That is him saying, 'I will expend some capital here.' Classic Washington though. You'll hopefully come to a deal that doesn't thrill the more aggressive elements of both parties, but this is the way we get things done. If the Republicans walk away from the border deal… aid to Ukraine is at risk and that has implications for Vladimir Putin for President Xi, you name it." —Rep. Jim Himes via MSNBC
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"The GOP does not want to fix the border until they get credit. Party before country in their minds" —former Rep. Adam Kinzinger
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"Donald Trump just killed the Republican Bill to stop the border and fentanyl crisis so that he can use it as an election issue for the next 10 months. Donald Trump now owns the border crisis." –Rep. Jared Moskowitz
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"Can we all finally agree that House Republicans and Donald Trump do not want to solve the border challenges? It's all a political game to them. We've proposed real solutions but the MAGA right isn't interested. Shameful." —Rep. Robert Garcia
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"Yes. We are here. The only reason we are not going to get the southern border under control is Trump and his cult. He cares about campaigning on the issue more [than] fixing it. Don't believe me, ask Rs in Congress." —Former Sen. Claire McCaskill
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"The House won't do a single thing to help Texas border communities because they'd rather let Donald Trump use the border as a campaign talking point than actually do their jobs." —Rep. Jasmine Crockett
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"They're going to kill border security and give Ukraine to Putin, all because Trump told them to. Truly unconscionable. They're siding with chaos and not the American people. The American people want this fixed." —Rep. Greg Landsman
