Despite pressure from the Senate to take up its $95 billion foreign aid package, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., says he remains steadfast on Valentine's Day to show "love" for the American people wanting to secure U.S. borders before paying nearly $100 billion to other countries.
"The American people are not feeling very loved right now," Johnson told reporters at a House GOP leadership news conference Wednesday. "They're not feeling heard by the Biden administration.
"And let me be clear again this morning: The Republican-led House will not be jammed or forced into passing a foreign-aid bill that was opposed by most Republican senators and does nothing to secure our own border," he continued.
"It's time for Washington to start showing some love to Americans. On Valentine's Day this is a good day to point this out. We need to listen to the American people and their needs and take action."
Instead of talking about forcing-feeding the Senate's foreign aid — that does not mention "one word" about the U.S. southern border — Johnson said President Joe Biden should start being told to sit down with the House GOP leader.
"I've been requesting a meeting with the president for weeks now, a month," Johnson said. "I've been asking to sit down with the president to talk about the border, to talk about national security, and that meeting has not been granted. And I'm going to continue to insist on that, because there are very serious issues that need to be address.
"And if the speaker of the House can't meet with the president of the United States, that's a problem. I don't know what they're uncomfortable having the president of the United States sit across the table from me, but I will go into it in good faith, because we have to solve this issue."
Johnson stressed, without spending another dollar, Biden has all the power to close the border and restore the Trump administration border security provisions he unwound when taking office, including remain in Mexico, ending catch and release, and building the border wall under funding that was already approved but ultimately blocked by Biden.
"We're going to continue to demand, before we take care of all the issues around the world, we take care of our own first," Johnson said. "And I'm telling you that is not a campaign message. That is the truth and that is what resonates in the hearts of the American people.
"We are on their side, and it's the side of common sense. It's the side of security. It's the side of stability. It's the side of sanity. And the president of the United States will not acknowledge that, and it is of great alarm to us.
"We are not going to be forced into action by the Senate, who in the latest product it sent us over does not have one word in the bill about America's border, not one word about security."