A group of House Republicans urged their colleagues on Monday to reject a government spending deal that doesn’t address the “open border” and “radical progressive” policies led by
Democrats and President
Joe Biden. As
Congress labors toward a spending deal for the rest of the fiscal year, thereby averting another looming
Government Shutdown, 43 Republicans have urged their colleagues to “force the inclusion” of measures to secure the border and curb radical progressive policies. “At some point, border security has to be more than something aspirational that we simply message on,” reads the letter, led by Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good (R-Va.) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas). “Is there a point at which we will refuse to let this happen on our watch, or is there no threshold of harm to our nation for which we would refuse to fund the government perpetrating the invasion?” The 43 lawmakers called to reject a funding package that doesn’t include measures to secure the U.S. border, including ending trafficking and blocking non-citizens from voting in federal
elections. “The next government appropriations package funds multiple avenues Biden exploits to release millions into America,” they said. This includes the Department of Homeland Security’s “abuse of laws,” whereby illegal immigrants are released into the
United States under parole and asylum programs, as well as “the trafficking of humans” by the
United Nations and non-governmental organizations, according to the letter. However, the lawmakers contended that “the abuse can be checked, if the House of Representatives exercises its constitutional duty.” They urged colleagues to force “the inclusion of core elements” of H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act,” in the appropriations package. “Of course, the fact that the funding package includes defense spending means many will rationalize a ‘yes’ vote ‘for the troops.’ Even setting aside the border, the power of the purse should also be used to stop the radical politicization of the Department of Defense,” they wrote. The caucus equated voting for a spending bill that doesn’t include measures to curb “President Biden’s most disastrous social-engineering policies” as “a vote for the
abortion travel fund, taxpayer-funded gender transition surgeries, and other diversity, equity, and inclusion policies at the
Pentagon.” Congress is moving to pass six appropriations bills by March 22 after having already cleared six earlier this month, which narrowly avoided a partial shutdown. The text of a minibus spending bill for the remaining six was expected to be released on March 17 but did not emerge. Progress on the bipartisan deal slowed over the weekend amid disagreements over the bill’s provisions for a year-long continuing resolution. The six remaining appropriations bill will fund swaths of the federal government, including DHS, and the other departments, including Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and State. It will also fund the Internal Revenue Service, the general government, and foreign operations. Without the spending bill, these departments won’t be funded, and they must shut down.
Republican opposition to the president’s handling of the crisis at the southern border is at the center of delays. The Freedom Caucus highlighted figures around the border crisis since President Biden took office, citing the “mass release” of 4.5 million illegal immigrants, a further two million “got-aways,” and another one million granted entry via the CBP One app—which is how the man who killed Laken Riley entered America. The letter also noted that some notices to appear in court given to illegal immigrants upon release into the country stretch as far out as 2035.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked on Monday to comment on the White House’s involvement in talks about budget elements of the DHS funding package. “One thing that I will make clear is that, look, DHS needs a bill that adequately funds operational pace—pace. Right? And we have seen, during the—this past fiscal year, that that is what the administration is fighting for. We want to make sure that they have the operational funding to do the
Job that they need to be doing. And that is what I can say,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said. When pressed on whether the White House had an issue with the budget allocation for DHS, Ms. Jean-Pierre said that she won’t “negotiate from the podium” but that the Biden administration has always said “that DHS needs additional funding.”