The GOP Clown Show on Border Security

Today on TAP: Who gains politically if the bipartisan border bill stays blocked? The losers are the vast majority of voters who want the crisis solved.

by

The events of the past few days laid bare all of the Republican schisms on Ukraine, Israel, immigration, and the border. In the Senate, Mitch McConnell’s caucus deserted him on a carefully negotiated border bill, leaving him more isolated politically.

In the House, four Republicans joined Democrats to defeat the measure impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Meanwhile, the House failed to pass a stand-alone Republican bill for $17.6 billion in aid to Israel. Speaker Mike Johnson looks more inept and more vulnerable than ever.

What remains to be seen is whether the Democrats can play the GOP disarray to their advantage. The Republicans abruptly blocked a tough border deal whose contents they virtually dictated, only because Trump opposed it.

More from Robert Kuttner

That gives Biden a strong basis to engage Trump on an issue where public opinion wants the border mess resolved. He sounded strong when he spoke out Tuesday, declaring that Trump “would rather weaponize this issue than actually solve it.” He challenged congressional Republicans to “show some spine and do what they know to be right.”

As expected, the Senate failed to pass the border bill when Democratic Leader Schumer brought it up today. Just four Republicans voted in favor: Lisa Murkowski (AK), Susan Collins (ME), Mitt Romney (UT), and James Lankford (OK). Four Democrats joined Republicans in voting no: Alex Padilla (CA), Bob Menendez (NJ), and Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, both of Massachusetts, as did independent Bernie Sanders (VT). Later today, Schumer will offer a stand-alone foreign aid bill for Israel and Ukraine, another issue that splits Republicans.

This is far from over. The Democrats could try for border legislation again. Biden could attempt to use executive powers to bring more order to the migrant pileup. In normal times, courts would block that kind of move, but right-wing judges might uphold it, paradoxically helping Biden.

On the border issue, everything is now topsy-turvy. Democrats are now for a tough policy they didn’t really want. Republicans blocked a measure they imposed on Democrats. They look like toadies to Trump, which helps with their hardcore base but not with voters generally, especially on this issue.

If the crisis persists, my bet is that it hurts the Republicans more than it hurts Biden and eventually Congress will be compelled to act.

A second Trump administration will cement a right-wing majority on the Supreme Court for a generation, and put our collective future in the hands of someone who will be virtually unchecked by our institutions. The country has shifted rightward, and the reverberations will ensue for potentially the next few decades. In this climate, a robust independent media ecosystem will be more important than ever. We're committed to bringing you the latest news on how Trump's agenda will actually affect the American people, shining a light on the stories corporate media overlooks and keeping the public informed about how power really works in this country.

Quality journalism is expensive to produce, and we don't have corporate backers to rely on to fund what we do. Everything we do is thanks to our incredible community of readers, who chip in a few dollars at a time to make our work possible. Any amount you give today will help us continue reporting on what matters to our democracy.

You can help power this newsroom by making a one-time donation or by becoming a member today.