Republicans and Democrats are angling for the upper hand ahead of a Thursday vote on a bipartisan border bill that seems doomed for failure.
With the outcome almost guaranteed, Thursday’s vote becomes about the politics of immigration and border security during an election year. Polls show those are among the top issues on the minds of voters.
Former President Trump urged Republicans to vote against the same bill when it failed back in February, with only four GOP senators breaking from him to support it. It benefits Trump to have the issue open to run on in November.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) revival of the bill is largely viewed as an effort to “prop up vulnerable Democrats,” The Hill’s Rafael Bernal writes.
Almost no one seems happy about Thursday’s vote, with the possible exception of some Senate Democrats who feel they’ve been on defense over border security for too long.
Vulnerable senators, such as Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.), will have another opportunity on Thursday to get a vote on the record.
Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has already told President Biden that Republicans will not support the bill, The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports.
McConnell instead urged Biden to take executive action, which the White House has said it does not have the authority to do.
Senate Republicans, led by Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), held a press conference on Wednesday to blast the vote.
“It is not a border security bill. It’s an election year political stunt designed to give our Democratic colleagues the appearance of doing something about the problem without doing anything at all. Why would Sen. Schumer choose to bring forth legislation that has already failed once and he knows has no chance in the House?”
Democrats in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) are seething over contents of the bill, which was negotiated between centrist Democrats in the Senate, as well as independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) and Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.).
The CHC believes the bill is punitive toward immigrants, with CHC Chair Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) saying:
“The Senate border bill once again fails to meet the moment by putting forth enforcement-only policies and failing to include provisions that will keep families together.”
Related coverage:
