The White House on Sunday grilled House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) after he criticized the Biden administration's border response and the Senate's ongoing negotiations on a border security agreement.
In an interview on “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Prime Minister Johnson acknowledged that he had not been informed of Senate negotiations on the bill and said President Biden must immediately use executive authority to secure the border. He seemed to contradict himself by saying that a new bill was needed for that purpose. To do so.
White House press secretary Andrew Bates said Johnson “continues to associate himself” with the statement.
“Chairman Johnson said on 'Meet the Press' that President Biden already has the necessary executive authority to secure the border, but at the same time there is an inherent contradiction in the urgent need for legislation,” Bates said in a statement. “I vacillated violently between these claims many times.”
He said Johnson's opposition to the Senate border talks, citing former President Trump's opposition to the measure, “delays border security, delays important investments in the fight against fentanyl, and delays hiring Border Patrol agents.” ”, he added.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last month that the bill would be “killed on arrival” if passed by the House of Lords.
Mr. Johnson has previously denied any links his opponents have to Mr. Trump, and some Senate Republicans have shunned the former president's influence on negotiations.
The chairman clarified Sunday that President Trump is “not in control” of border negotiations.
“I have the power to decide for the House. That's our responsibility,” he said. “And I've been saying this much longer than President Trump. I've been saying what it takes to fix the problem.”
Mr Bates claimed that as border deal negotiations progress, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is “rushing to come up with every excuse he can to prevent bipartisan action to secure our borders”.
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