By Raul Castillo
05 Feb 2024, 15:45 PM EST
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday expressed his “hope” that the border bill, published on Sunday, will be approved, despite the refusal of the most radical wing of the Republican Party.
“I am confident; hopeful is the right word,” Schumer said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” when asked about the chances of the bill passing the Senate, as reported by NBC News. “This is hard. And our Republican senators (we need a bunch of them) are under a lot of pressure from the right wing of Trump’s party.”
One of the first to reject it was House Speaker Mike Johnson, who wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday night that the bill “will be dead on arrival” in the House.
Trump has consistently pressured Republicans not to approve the border project, saying he would put border failure on Republicans’ shoulders. However, the less radical sector of the Republican Party, such as Nikki Haley, have accused the former president of “playing politics” with this pressure, and saying that the bill must move forward.
“Will senators drown out the political noise of Trump and his minions and do what is right for America?” Schumer asked this Monday. “It is a crucial question. History is looking down on each of us right now.”
Pressure on Johnson
Therefore, the Senate majority leader assured that Johnson will eventually face “enormous pressure within his group” to approve the bill if it manages to pass the Senate.
“Well, he’s saying that now because he hopes his nightmare is that we pass it in the Senate,” Schumer said of Johnson’s refusal. “So he’s doing everything he can to stop us from passing it in the Senate. But once we pass it in the Senate, God willing, I think there will be enormous pressure inside and outside his group to get it done.”
“If I introduced this bill in this House right now, it would pass,” Schumer added, according to NBC News. “We would get a lot of Democratic votes and a good number of Republican votes.”
A similar statement was made Sunday night by President Joe Biden in a statement. “Now, House Republicans have to decide. Do you want to solve the problem? Or do they want to continue playing politics with the border?” stated the Democratic president.
However, the main Republicans in the Lower House have already announced their opposition to the bill. In a joint statement, Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Leader Tom Emmer and Speaker Elise Stefanik argued that the bill “fails in every policy area necessary to secure our border and actually incentivize further illegal immigration.” .
“Any consideration of this Senate bill in its current form is a waste of time,” they wrote. “He is DEAD upon arriving at the House (House of Representatives). “We encourage the United States Senate to reject it.”
With information from NBC News.
Keep reading:
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