President Joe Biden on Monday urged Republican leaders in Congress to back a renewed bipartisan bill on border security. This comes after House Speaker Mike Johnson declared that the bill would be "dead on arrival."
Biden spoke with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as the White House pushed for a Senate vote on the bill, according to Reuters.
In a statement, the White House said that Biden urged Republicans to "stop playing politics" and quickly pass the legislation to enhance border security, invest in anti-drug trafficking technology, and increase safety.
Before Biden reached out, leaders of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives criticized the bill as politically motivated. "Should it reach the House, the bill would be dead on arrival," Johnson and other Republicans said in a statement.
Last week, Biden also discussed the bill with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
Democrats are pushing the Border Act, which aims to reform asylum laws, hire thousands of border agents, and tackle fentanyl smuggling.
Since Biden took office in 2021, record numbers of migrants have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, making border security a key issue in the upcoming presidential election against former President Donald Trump.
In February, a version of the border security bill stalled in the Senate after former President Donald Trump urged Republicans not to support it, despite its inclusion of several GOP-sought border measures.
Biden and other Democrats accused Trump of undermining the bill to keep the border debate alive during the campaign season.
On Sunday, Schumer announced plans to pass the new bill this week, followed by the White House expressing strong support for the legislation. Unlike the previous version, which was tied to U.S. foreign aid for Ukraine and Israel, this bill will stand alone, according to Schumer.
Despite likely failure due to opposition from both parties, the vote will allow Democrats to shift the narrative against Republicans as border issues dominate the campaign trail.
The bill was negotiated by Senators James Lankford (R-Okla.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.).
The president endorsed it, calling it a strong compromise where no side got everything it wanted.
