(NewsNation) — The Senate failed to advance a $118 billion package pairing border security with foreign aid after Republicans blocked the measure.
One senator who opposes the deal is Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who says members of his party want to “force” President Joe Biden to use executive authority to address the problem of illegal immigration.
“I wasn’t looking for some massive bill that basically codified his open borders … that would hamper a future president who wanted to secure the border,” Johnson said Wednesday on “The Hill on NewsNation.” “It’s actually the president’s responsibility. We were trying to force this president to use the authority that the Supreme Court said exists to actually secure the border.”
Negotiators have been working on the bipartisan deal for months. The measure would boost spending for border enforcement measures and give the president authority to close the border in certain situations. The bill also includes military defense funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, which the Senate plans to vote on separately.
Johnson criticized Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for allowing the negotiation to go forward.
“I want as many of my colleagues to understand and analyze exactly how did we take an issue that the vast majority of the American public agrees with Republicans and walk ourselves into the box canyon where now Joe Biden is blaming us for the open border that he caused?” Johnson said. “You’ve really got to scratch your head and go, ‘What political genius allowed that to happen?’ That political genius is called Mitch McConnell.”