Senator James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, is working with Democrats on a bipartisan border security bill which is under attack, as he is, by his Republican colleagues.
Lankford doesn’t believe they know what’s in it.
He says the bill is closer to what the Republicans want than the Democrats favor.
Speaker of the House Johnson said it is dead on arrival in the GOP-controlled chamber.
“This bill focuses on getting us to zero illegal crossings a day,” Lankford says.
Former President Donald Trump opposes it as not doing enough—and because President Joe Bidden likes it.
“There’s no amnesty,” Lankford says, who also has said there is no path to citizenship.
Republican lawmakers say it doesn’t go far enough.
“It increases the number of Border Patrol agents, increases asylum officers, it increases detention beds so we can quickly detain and then deport individuals,” Johnson said.
Republicans slam it as not solving the problem.
“It focuses on additional deportation flights out. It changes our asylum process so that people get a fast asylum screening at a higher standard and then get returned to their home country,” Lankford said.
Republicans want more.
Lankford has slammed his colleagues for giving in to political pressure. He recalled that four months ago his fellow GOP lawmakers refused to provide Ukraine and Israel any more aid until policy changes were made on immigration.
Now, Lankford says, their attitude is “’Oh, just kidding. I actually don’t want to change the law because it’s a presidential election year.’”
The Oklahoma Republican State Committee has condemned Lankford for working with the Democrats, “jeopardizing the security and liberty of the people of Oklahoma and of these United States.”
I would like to applaud the GOP for putting what matters first: Winning elections.
Our country and our allies, obviously, are just an afterthought.
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