The White House statement comes after a week of frantic negotiations in the Senate.
President Joe Biden on Friday urged Congress to pass a bipartisan bill to address the immigration crisis at the nation’s southern border, saying he would shut down the border the day the bill became law.
“What’s been negotiated would — if passed into law — be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country,” Biden said in a statement. “It would give me, as President, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed. And if given that authority, I would use it the day I sign the bill into law.”
Biden’s Friday evening statement resembles a ramping up in rhetoric for the administration, placing the president philosophically in the camp arguing that the border may hit a point where closure is needed. The White House’s decision to have Biden weigh in also speaks to the delicate nature of the dealmaking, and the urgency facing his administration to take action on the border — particularly during an election year, when Republicans have used the issue to rally their base.
The president is also daring Republicans to reject the deal as it faces a make-or-break moment amid GOP fissures.
Do I agree? I don’t think so. But I must admit this is a smart move politically. It calls their bluff.
So what? Why should anyone care?
Republicans can block this bill, keep calling Biden weak on the border, and they will not lose a single solitary vote.
Litterally all this accomplishes is to legitimize the false narrative of the “migrant invasion”
Simple, the next time Republicans screech about the border, Biden can point out he wanted to do exactly what they said, but they still refused – and highlight that Republicans are operating in bad faith.
Don’t think about how Democrat voters or Republican voters will react – their votes are forgone conclusions – think about independents and moderates. This exposes Republicans to that group as not actually caring.
By calling for a bad bill?
Unironically, yes. He’s telling Republicans that he’ll do what they want, but they still refuse