Speaker of the House Mike Johnson reiterated his opposition to the Senate’s recent bipartisan $118 billion border security and foreign aid package on Monday.
Johnson spoke on "The Ingraham Angle" about the impact the package would have on immigration, arguing that it remains a "non-starter" in the House.
"What it would do is actually further incentivize illegal immigration," Johnson told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. "It would not resolve any of the problems, not reform in any meaningful way the broken asylum system, the broken parole process and all the things that have created this catastrophe. And, by the way, meanwhile, it further empowers the very Cabinet Secretary who designed and created this mess. They don’t follow federal law. Why would we do this anyway? But the bill itself would actually do more harm than good and that’s why we have said it’s a non-starter over here in the House."
SPEAKER JOHNSON SAYS HE CONFRONTED BIDEN ON DOZENS OF MEASURES THAT WEAKENED BORDER: 'DO YOUR JOB'
He also criticized his fellow Republicans, like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for being willing to compromise on the issue and pushed back against any suggestions that the package could be passed in other ways.
"We are going to do everything within our power. When I said it’s dead on arrival, I mean dead on arrival. We are going to have to work every other angle that we can and make sure we’re taking care of our responsibilities here. The House Republicans are dug in and ready to do it," Johnson said.
"The American people are running the show here. We are the representatives of our constituents. The American people are on our side. They recognize this catastrophe has been disastrous for the country. Every state is a border state. And everybody knows it."
Johnson further denied Biden’s claim that he has no authority to fix the border and blasted the president for threatening to veto aid for Israel outside the border package.
"This president is projecting weakness on the world stage. He is not willing to fix the greatest crisis facing our country, which is the open border. They have just shown a staggering level of leadership that I think the American people are going to let their voices heard at the lack of leadership. They are going to let their voices heard at the election cycle. That is why his polling is so low. The people see what is happening here," he said.
LAURA INGRAHAM: SENATORS DON'T WANT TO DEFEND THE BORDER DEAL
The full text of the Senate border deal was released on Sunday. The package has the backing of Senate leaders and President Biden. The deal also includes funding for two U.S. allies; $60 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel, and approximately $20 billion to control illegal immigration at the southern border.
However, the deal has faced significant blowback from Republicans and other conservatives. Many have attacked the deal for increasing work permits for migrants as well as allowing a seven-day average of 5,000 border encounters a day.
Johnson announced shortly after the bill was released that the bill would never pass the House.
"I've seen enough," Johnson wrote on X. "This bill is even worse than we expected, and won't come close to ending the border catastrophe the President has created. As the lead Democrat negotiator proclaimed: Under this legislation, 'the border never closes.'"
He declared, "If this bill reaches the House, it will be dead on arrival."
