Trump Fuels Growing Opposition Within GOP to a Deal on the Border

President Trump is now leading opposition within the GOP to a potential border deal being hammered out in the Senate, becoming the most high-profile Republican to oppose the deal and joining a group of legislators opposed to compromising with Democrats.“I do not think we should do a Border Deal, at all, unless we get EVERYTHING needed to shut down the INVASION of Millions & Millions of people, many from parts unknown, into our once great, but soon to be great again, Country,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.The former president clarified that his ire was not aimed at Speaker Johnson, saying, “Also, I have no doubt that our wonderful Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, will only make a deal that is PERFECT ON THE BORDER.”Mr. Trump’s comment came shortly after Mr. Johnson joined other congressional leaders to discuss the deal involving funding for border security, Ukraine, and Israel.Leaving the meeting, Senator Schumer said he thought the chances of negotiators reaching a deal was “a little bit greater than half,” adding, “That’s the first time I can say that.”Although President Biden in December said he was willing to make “significant compromises” on American border policy, opposition to any sort of compromise has been stiff among House Republicans.“We must insist, must insist that the border be the top priority. I think we have some consensus around the table, everyone understands the urgency of that,” Mr. Johnson told reporters yesterday.Mr. Johnson added that Republicans are “not insistent upon a particular name of a piece of legislation, but we are insistent that the elements have to be meaningful.”Within the conference, though, Republicans on the party’s right flank have been threatening to oust Mr. Johnson should he compromise on the border.A member of the House Freedom Caucus, Eli Crane, told the Messenger: “If things continue to go the way that they’re going,” he could “absolutely” see an effort to oust Mr. Johnson gaining traction.While Messrs. Trump and Johnson have suggested that the only way to fix the problem is to reinstall Mr. Trump in the White House, given the president’s considerable power over border enforcement, cutting a deal on the border could also at least partially neutralize a potent talking point on the campaign trail.In a statement Thursday, Congressman Jamie Raskin criticized Republicans for potentially obstructing a border deal, saying that the GOP is looking to use the border as leverage in 2024 and pointing to comments by Mr. Trump that he hopes the economy worsens before the election.“Just as Trump is hoping for an economic downturn in our robust, low unemployment economy, they’re hoping for chaos at the border and trying to stop us from preventing it,” Mr. Raskin said. “These tactics are accompanied by dangerous rhetoric. MAGA Republicans continue to invoke white supremacist, anti-immigration fantasies and conspiracy theories.”House Republicans have been criticizing the Biden administration for deporting fewer migrants than Mr. Trump’s administration. In a new report, the House Judiciary Committee highlighted that fiscal year 2023 saw 23 percent fewer deportations than fiscal year 2020 and 47 percent fewer than fiscal year 2019.The report also emphasized that migrants from all around the world are choosing to enter America via the southern border, including some 24,000 Chinese, 15,000 Turks, and 15,000 Mauritanians in fiscal year 2023.A recent CBS News poll found that 45 percent of Americans see the border as a “crisis,” and another 30 percent see it as a very serious issue. The survey found that while Mr. Biden has a low approval rating on the border, with 32 percent approval to 68 percent disapproval, congressional Republicans are also underwater on the issue, with 35 percent approval and 65 percent disapproval.In the Senate, where a potential deal is expected to emerge, a group of GOP senators is opposed to any sort of compromise on the border.At a press conference last week, three lawmakers — Senators Lee, Johnson, and Scott of Florida — suggested that the situation at the border could be remedied with a new presidential administration and that new legislation isn’t needed. They also expressed support for shutting down the government unless Mr. Biden “shuts down” the border.

Trump Fuels Growing Opposition Within GOP to a Deal on the Border

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