A group of Republican senators, most of whom publicly opposed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) during internal elections, are slamming the long-awaited national security bill that includes a bipartisan compromise on the border backed by McConnell, with one going so far as to call for the Republican leader’s ouster.
The growing condemnation from more conservative Republican senators came shortly after the bill was released on Sunday night, raising questions about whether it could advance in the upper chamber. The measure is expected to face a test vote on Wednesday, where it needs a minimum of 10 Republican votes to move forward. Several top Republicans claim the deal fails to secure the border and encourages migration.
McConnell praised the deal on Sunday, saying it included “direct and immediate solutions to the crisis at our southern border.” But he now faces a major challenge as he attempts to muster Senate Republicans to vote for the national security bill that former President Donald Trump wants to kill.
The Senate Republican leader easily overcame an attempt from conservative lawmakers to replace him from his post at the end of 2022, but the presence of the challenge signals an increasing dissatisfaction from his right flank. The Republican leader has already been forced to pick fights with this group of Republicans on raising the debt ceiling and government funding.
Trump’s influence has also created challenges for McConnell, with the composition of the conference shifting away from longtime establishment members to those with views more sympathetic to the former president.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), who previously voted against McConnell during the last round of leadership elections, called for the Republican Senate leader to be replaced on Sunday night, describing the immigration deal as “an unmitigated disaster” and “betrayal” in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“I cannot understand how any Republican would think this was a good idea—or anything other than an unmitigated disaster,” Lee said. “WE NEED NEW LEADERSHIP — NOW.”
In later posts, Lee chastised McConnell for working with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on the bill, taking aim at what he’s branding as “The Law Firm of Schumer & McConnell.”
“We must reject the slimy trick by which (1) the law firm of Schumer & McConnell (The Firm) writes bills in secret, & then (2) puts pressure on senators to pass them immediately,” Lee wrote in a post on X on Monday.
Among the chorus of opposition to the immigration bill that first came in were all the senators who attempted to wage a rebellion against McConnell’s leadership in the past, including Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Mike Braun (R-IN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Ted Cruz (R-TX).
“Hard no,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) in a post on X, later adding in a second post, “This is an open-borders bill if I’ve ever seen one.”
Cruz came out against the bill and is leading a pressure campaign to abandon the bill if it doesn’t have more than 10 Republican votes. According to sources familiar, McConnell’s original goal was to have a deal that could receive the support of at least half the conference, which includes 49 members.
However, cracks are emerging among allies of the Senate minority leader as well. In a brief statement, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), a former member of leadership and an adviser to McConnell, said now that he has seen the text of the deal, he has “questions and serious concerns,” according to reporting from Breitbart.
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), the chairman of the party’s campaign committee, said he could not support the measure in a post on X on Monday morning as well.
“I can’t support a bill that doesn’t secure the border, provides taxpayer-funded lawyers to illegal immigrants, and gives billions to radical open borders groups,” Daines said. “I’m a no.”
The legislation, which has the support of top leaders on both sides of the aisle, would tighten asylum standards and compel the president to shut down the border once crossings reach a weekly average of 5,000 per day. It would also shorten the time it takes to determine immigrants’ asylum claims to no longer than six months and create a higher standard for the initial screening to take place within 90 days. The bill also includes the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would provide a process for permanent legal status for Afghans who fled during the 2021 withdrawal.
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The deal also includes $20.2 billion to improve border security, expand the number of available detention beds, and increase screenings for fentanyl and other drugs.
The chances of the bill becoming law are bleak. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who favors H.R. 2, the House’s signature border bill, has already declared the compromise “dead on arrival” in the House.
