Republicans have been hammering the Biden administration’s immigration policy since the moment he took office. Now, with the clamor for a deal to curb the flow of migrants through the southern border at a fever pitch, a bipartisan Senate deal may be dead on arrival in the House — and on Wednesday Rep. Troy Nehls made clear that the reason is purely political.
“Let me tell you, I’m not willing to do too damn much right now to help a Democrat and to help Joe Biden’s approval rating,” Nehls told CNN on Wednesday. “I will not help the Democrats try to improve this man’s dismal approval ratings. I’m not going to do it. Why would I? Chuck Schumer has had HR 2 on his desk since July. And he did nothing with it.”
For weeks now, a bipartisan group of senators has been working to craft a deal that would tie increased border security measures to emergency military aid for Israel and Ukraine. On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters that lawmakers in the upper chamber are “closer than we have been” to finalizing an agreement. “Everyone’s going to have to give something to get this done. No one can just get his or her own way,” he said.
Border security is a central pillar of the GOP’s 2024 strategy, but it’s Nehls’ comments that lay bare House Republicans’ ultimate guiding light in their governance strategy: helping Trump defeat President Joe Biden. In December, Nehls made a similar revelation when he was recorded on video, obtained exclusively by Rolling Stone, saying “Donald J. Trump 2024, baby!” in response to a question on what the GOP was hoping to gain from an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden.
Nehls is not alone in his opposition, and several other Republican lawmakers told CNN that their support for a Senate immigration package was contingent on how closely the deal resembled HR-2, a hawkish bill passed by House Republicans in May that would drastically reshape the American immigration system.
While Republicans like Nehls have made clear they won’t give an inch on immigration if it means handing even the smallest of victories to President Biden, they’re prepared to make the border a center-stage 2024 issue in other ways. On Wednesday, the House Homeland Security Committee announced its intent to move forward with impeachment proceedings against Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas — a showdown long sought by far-right representatives like Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
Greene accompanied House Speaker Mike Johnson on a trip to the Southern border this week. “In large measure because of this issue, I do think that we’re going to have a change in the White House,” Johnson told reports on Wednesday. “I think we’re going to have a Republican president. I think we’re going to win the Senate, and we’re going to expand the majority in the House.”
