Texas Republican says lawmakers need to ‘sweeten the deal’ on border security for aid bill to pass House

Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) said Sunday that lawmakers need to “sweeten the deal” on border security in order for a supplemental aid package to pass the GOP-led House.

Gonzales warned on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that additional aid to Ukraine and Israel will have an uphill battle in the House as GOP lawmakers will likely want more border security provisions than what the Senate and White House will propose.

“The Senate is going to have its battle getting to 60 votes, the House is going to have its battle getting to 218,” Gonzales said. “And we can do that. But I think there’s going to have to — we have to sweeten the deal. And part of that is we have to get to the root of the issue.”

“The root of the issue is labeling cartels as terrorist organizations. And the other piece is holding these smugglers accountable that cause damage and kill Americans. Those are all a couple of things that … I believe can help get the house to 218 votes,” he added.

He said that the deal between the Senate and the White House will be “much different” than what the House wants. This comes as Senate negotiators have been engaged in discussions for weeks on how they can come to a bipartisan agreement on the border, which would then unlock additional funding for Ukraine and Israel.

“Part of that is coming to the realization that there’s … going to have to be some different things in there,” Gonzales said. “And part of that is labeling cartels as terrorist organizations. It will help get the House to 218 votes.”

“I’d also say too, if the White House is serious about this, the White House — they shouldn’t be sending a secretary, [Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas] to the negotiating table. Where’s the president? Or where’s the vice president? … These are some areas that I think could increase the level of getting to a real deal,” he continued.

Senate negotiators and the White House have expressed optimism in recent days that they could be nearing a deal before the end of the year, but without congressional action, the Biden administration has warned that funding for Ukraine will run out by the end of the year.