Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., blasted a White House statement about House Republicans' efforts on border security as "a joke" and "beneath" President Joe Biden's administration.
Lawler made the comments Wednesday from the southern border during an interview with NewsNation's "The Hill." Lawler was part of a delegation of about 65 Republican lawmakers who visited the border near Eagle Pass, Texas, to see the results of the Biden administration's border policies.
Lawler was asked about a White House statement that attempted to cast blame at the border on House Republicans, who passed HR 2 earlier this year.
While Republicans, led by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., visited the border, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates released this statement: "Instead of joining the Biden Administration and members of both parties in the Senate to find common ground, [House Speaker Mike Johnson] is continuing to block President Biden's proposed funding to hire thousands of new Border Patrol agents, hire more asylum officers and immigration judges, provide local communities hosting migrants additional grant funding, and invest in cutting edge technology that is critical to stopping deadly fentanyl from entering our country."
Lawler wasn't having it.
"That's such a joke and, frankly, beneath the White House to put out a statement like that," he told NewsNation. "The reality is this — House Republicans are the only ones that have done anything on border security this year. We passed HR 2 seven months ago, the strongest border security measure in the history of Congress."
Republicans have tied approval for Biden's $106 billion supplemental aid package for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the border to an overhaul of the administration's border policy.
"So the failure here is on the part of the administration, whose policies have exacerbated the crisis," Lawler said.
"This is a crisis of their own making. And it is a dereliction of duty on the part of [President] Joe Biden, [Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro] Mayorkas and frankly, [Democrat New York Sen.] Chuck Schumer, as the majority leader," he added.
Some Republicans are now mulling taking things a step further by shutting down the border in exchange for keeping the federal government open. There are dual deadlines coming up Jan. 19 and Feb. 2 for House Republicans to pass the appropriations bills to keep the government open.
"There's going to be a big effort to make sure we do nothing on funding unless we secure the border," Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told The Hill on Wednesday. "That's going to be the big fight."
Scott added, "I'm going to work with anybody I can to make sure there won't be any funding bill done until there's a secure border."
Scott's comments came after Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, urged GOP lawmakers on Tuesday to put a hold on passing the funding bills until Biden signs a strict border reform bill into law.
"We must make funding for federal government operations contingent on the president signing HR 2, or its functional equivalent, into law and stopping the flow across our border (with demonstrable near-zero results)," Roy wrote in a "Dear Colleague" letter.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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