A Mini ‘Freedom Caucus’ Emerges in the Senate as Lawmakers Join House Conservatives To Demand Action on the Border

A parallel to the House Freedom Caucus is emerging in the Senate as Senators Johnson, Lee, and Scott of Florida threaten to force a government shutdown unless President Biden “shuts down” the border.At a press conference hosted by Representative Matt Rosendale, who is a Freedom Caucus member, the senators made clear their intentions to block any government funding deal — and any other legislation — until Mr. Biden cracks down on migration at the southern border.“We have to take every opportunity to say we’re not going to pass additional legislation … until we get the border secure,” Mr. Scott said.He went on to say, “We have a lawless administration, let’s just all admit it,” adding, “we have drugs all across the country, we have criminals, we have terrorists.”Mr. Lee said, “Sure our immigration code is a mess,” but in his opinion, there is no new legislation needed to shut down the southern border.“The humanitarian and rule of law crisis unfolding along the southern border is not there because of a lack of adequate legislation,” Mr. Lee said. “It’s nothing short of terrifying.”Mr. Lee said that he would not vote to keep the government open until there were changes in policy at the southern border. Mr. Rosendale said, “We have to get back to pre-Biden administration numbers.”“Do not fall for the mistake that this is somehow wrong, somehow xenophobic,” Mr. Lee said. “We’re not going to continue to fund your government as if nothing has changed.”Mr. Rosendale, who assembled the group of representatives and senators for the press conference, said that people should expect to see his allies in the House begin obstructing legislation until there is a decrease in encounters at the southern border.“What you’re going to start witnessing is the House of Representatives doing whatever it can” to let the House know there will be no spending agreement until the border is shut down, Mr. Rosendale said.As the members of Congress held their press conference, the House again ran into an impasse on a rules vote, a procedure that in the past almost never failed. Punchbowl News’s Jake Sherman reports that Speaker Johnson lost the rules vote because 12 of the most conservative House members voted against the procedural measure to protest the spending deal he’s working on with Senator Schumer.In last year’s year-end report, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that the total number of encounters between ports of entry rose to 3.2 million from 2.8 million. In December, more migrants — 309,000 — arrived at the southern border than in any other single month in American history. In November, 308,000 migrants arrived at the southern border.

A Mini ‘Freedom Caucus’ Emerges in the Senate as Lawmakers Join House Conservatives To Demand Action on the Border

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