Christian Smith
The Senate voted against the bipartisan border bill on Thursday, marking the second time it has been blocked in a matter of months, as Democrats seek to bolster their political problems and give President Biden and incumbent senators a boost in the process.
In a widely expected outcome, senators voted 43 to 50 to withdraw the proposal, which was negotiated over the fall and winter by Senators James Lankford (R-Okla.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Kyrsten Sinema (I). . -Ariz.). The bill also lost support compared to the previous vote in February, which fell 49-50.
The main attraction of those who reversed their votes this time was Lankford, who was the Republican Party’s leading member during the negotiations before the border bill met an unceremonious death.
The Oklahoma Republican told The Hill last week that Schumer and Murphy did not discuss renewed pressure at the border with him and that he was on the side of his Republican colleagues, arguing that this current pressure was inherently political and that Democrats were not interested at this time in getting a legislative result.
“Today it is not a bill. Today it is a prop. Today is an exercise in political messaging,” Lankford said before the vote. “That doesn’t help us as a country.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) has said repeatedly in recent weeks that he wants to put the bill back on the floor to drive home the point that former President Trump and his supporters killed the bill for political purposes and that Democrats want action at the border.
“People want us to do things. People want us to come together. And when they hear that the only reason Republicans backed away from this bill is not that it wasn’t strong enough, but that Donald Trump said he wanted chaos at the border, they don’t like that,” Schumer said Thursday at floor.
“The public is on the same page. And in the polling data, Democrats, Republicans and independents are all on the same page: act on a bipartisan bill, do something,” he continued. “Don’t play political games.”
Republicans have criticized these allegations and say Schumer is the one pursuing an overtly political agenda, and Democrats have failed to secure the border during Biden’s tenure in the White House.
The border vote was also seen by many as an attempt by Schumer to help several of his Democratic colleagues who face tough re-election fights in November as the border becomes a major issue in red and purple states.
“They are trying to get it right and they know they need political cover. To me, that’s everything,” Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, said Wednesday. “He knows it won’t work. It won’t pass the Chamber. We are not making laws here.”
“It’s about political messaging, and they understand that it’s a huge political vulnerability for them, and I understand why he’s doing what he’s doing,” Thune continued. “But I don’t think that’s going to work because people realize who owns the border issue, and that’s the Democrats.”
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, fiscal year 2024 was average of 217,000 migrant crossings per month, with more than 300,000 crossings marking the upper limit in recent years.
“It’s no mystery how we got here. President Biden and Vice President Harris promised open borders four years ago during the campaign. And they started following literally on day one,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on the floor.
The border bill emerged from tense negotiations between the three, along with the Biden administration and officials from Schumer and McConnell, as part of an attempt to win support from House Republicans for the national security supplement and aid to Ukraine.
Republicans lined up en masse against it within hours of its release in February, condemning it from the start. That prompted Schumer to move forward with the aid package, which included funds for Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific and humanitarian purposes.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) eventually relented and moved forward with his national security plan in April, which also included a possible ban on TikTok.
