Top US House Republican Johnson casts doubt on bipartisan border talks

[February 01, 2024]  By David Morgan and Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday cast doubt on a bipartisan effort to tighten border security, saying Democratic President Joe Biden does not need new laws to tackle the problem, signaling that a compromise being negotiated faces long odds of passage.

In his first formal speech since taking the speaker's gavel in October, Johnson said a deal taking shape in the Senate does not go far enough to prevent migrants from entering the country along the U.S.-Mexico border.

"From what we've heard, this so-called deal does not include transformational policy changes that are needed to actually stop the border catastrophe," he said in remarks on the House floor.

Johnson's remarks made clear that any bipartisan compromise to emerge from the Democratic-majority Senate would face a difficult reception in the House, which his Republicans control by a 219-213 margin.

Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, has called on lawmakers to reject any deal ahead of the November elections that will determine control of the White House and Congress.

That could leave emergency aid to Ukraine and Israel in doubt, as House Republicans have said that they will not sign off on more money absent tighter border controls.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said the foreign aid should not fall victim to disagreements over immigration, one of the most divisive issues in U.S. politics.

“It’s time for us to move something, hopefully including a border agreement. But we need to get help to Israel and to Ukraine quickly," he said.

House Republicans are also advancing an impeachment effort of Biden's top border official, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, though they are unlikely to succeed in persuading the Senate to remove him from office.

Biden's administration has struggled to cope with record numbers of migrants seeking asylum along the U.S.-Mexico border, and opinion polls show that immigration is a top concern of voters.

GROWING WORRY

Immigration ranked as Americans' second-greatest worry in a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Wednesday, with 17% of respondents saying it was their top concern, a sharp increase from the December reading.

Johnson said Biden already has the authority to prevent unauthorized entry into the country by reinstating policies Trump put in place during his 2017-2021 presidency, such as requiring migrants to remain in Mexico while they wait for their asylum cases to be heard.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks to a tour group in the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, U.S., January 18, 2024. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

"Any attempt by this president to pretend that he's a bystander bereft of any ability to secure the border is patently absurd," he said.

The White House said House Republicans have failed to act on its requests for more funding for border enforcement in favor of symbolic actions, like impeaching Mayorkas, that have no chance of succeeding.

"We hope for the sake of the country that House Republicans change course from their years of playing politics with this issue," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said.

'MAJOR, MAJOR POLICY CHANGES'

In the Senate, leaders of both parties said negotiators were close to finalizing their deal but still have work to do. McConnell said it was an improvement over current law.

Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema, one of the three negotiators, painted a different picture of the bill being written.

"These are major, major policy changes, unlike anything that you've seen implemented by prior administrations by administrative action," Sinema told reporters.

Senator Thom Tillis, who is not part of the talks, said roughly half of his fellow Republicans in the Senate support the package.

With a narrow Republican majority, Johnson has had to rely on Democratic votes to pass much legislation. Several from the party's left flank have also outlined objections to the Senate immigration deal, which has not yet formally been released.

"I'd have a very hard time voting for it," Democratic Representative Ro Khanna said.

(Reporting by David Morgan and Andy Sullivan; Additional reporting by Richard Cowan and Katharine Johnson; Editing by Scott Malone, Mark Porter and Diane Craft)

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