In a new statement Sunday night, House Speaker Mike Johnson said the Senate bipartisan bill to overhaul the immigration system along with providing aid to Israel and Ukraine was dead on arrival if it makes it to the House.
“I’ve seen enough. This bill is even worse than we expected and won’t come close to ending the border catastrophe President Biden has created. As the lead Democrat negotiator proclaimed: Under this legislation, the border never closes, and if this bill reaches the House, it will be dead on arrival,” Johnson said in a statement on X.
The Senate bill is awful! America, read from pages 212 to 217, and you will see why. There have to be 41 Republican Senators who will say NO to this monstrosity. @SpeakerJohnson, this bill should never get a vote in the House! pic.twitter.com/C92OWB3IKk
— Byron Donalds (@ByronDonalds) February 5, 2024
The legislation would allocate $20 billion for border security to give the federal government temporary authority to expel migrants when the average number of daily crossings exceeds a threshold. The border security component also includes ending “catch and release,” increasing standards for asylum screenings, and attempting to process asylum claims quickly.
The foreign aid portion of the agreement includes $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, and aid for Indo-Pacific allies. Johnson said he would put $17 billion in emergency funding for Israel in a standalone bill for a vote on the House floor next week.
Before the Senate released the agreement’s text Sunday night, Johnson made several comments.
“If rumors about the contents of the draft proposal are true, it would have been dead on arrival in the House anyway,” he wrote to House Republicans last month.
Shortly before Johnson’s statement, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) said the Senate bill would not receive a vote in the lower chamber. Scalise oversees the schedule in the House.
“Let me be clear: the Senate Border Bill will NOT receive a vote in the House. Here’s what the people pushing this deal aren’t telling you. It accepts 5,000 illegal immigrants a day and gives automatic work permits to asylum recipients, a magnet for more illegal immigration,” Scalise wrote on X.
In recent weeks, as negotiators were nearing a deal, Republicans became skeptical of the bipartisan talks, arguing that President Biden already has the resources to address the situation at the border and does not need new legislation.
Former President Trump also urged GOP lawmakers not to support a border deal unless they receive everything needed to shut down the invasion of millions and millions of people.
