President Biden’s reelection campaign called out former President Trump on Wednesday for standing in the way of resources going to Border Patrol agents to handle the situation at the U.S. southern border after the bipartisan Senate border bill was torpedoed.
“Donald Trump always puts himself and his dangerous pursuit of power first — even if it means defunding the Border Patrol. Donald Trump’s role is clear as day: He is personally standing in the way of giving Border Patrol the resources it needs to stop the flow of fentanyl and secure the border,” said Ammar Moussa, the Biden campaign’s rapid response director.
Biden had also blamed Trump on Tuesday for torpedoing a bipartisan border security bill for political reasons and accused him of trying to intimidate Republican lawmakers into opposing the bill. The bill has the backing of the National Border Patrol Council, the border patrol union that endorsed Trump in 2020.
Trump had warned Republicans against voting for the legislation, saying it would be a “death wish” for the party and would be politically unfavorable for the GOP in an election year. He has also criticized Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) for working on the bill, which Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) declared dead on arrival in the House.
House Republicans had turned their focus to impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, but the vote failed in embarrassing fashion Tuesday evening.
The Biden campaign also argued Wednesday that there was chaos at the border under the Trump administration. Republicans have consistently bashed Biden for worsening the situation at the border.
“Trump caused chaos at the border as president when he separated families and put kids in cages, and now, he’s abandoning law enforcement agents instead of helping them do their job. President Biden is standing with law enforcement and working across the aisle to secure the border,” Moussa said.
Moussa outlined that the border deal was negotiated by a bipartisan group of senators and argued it’s “the toughest, fairest border reforms in decades,” citing news articles about the provisions inside the bill.
He also said “Donald Trump blew up the bipartisan border deal solely because he thinks it helps his own political prospects,” citing news outlets, and that “Trump wants the crisis at the border to continue, harming Americans and eroding national security.”
“The American people deserve a president who works to deliver solutions for families instead of personal politics — thankfully, Joe Biden is on the ballot in November,” Moussa said.