House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) placed blame for the border crisis on President Joe Biden, insisting the president should act on solving the crisis as Senate negotiators are slated to release the text of their proposed border security bill on Sunday.
Johnson put the ball in Biden’s court to act on the border, arguing he has the authority to enact measures the House GOP has pursued through its H.R. 2 bill, which has not been considered by the Senate while speaking on NBC News’s Meet the Press on Sunday.
“I have been saying what the requirements are to fix the problem. I don’t care if they call the legislation HR 2 or not. What we’re saying is you have to stem the flow. The President has executive authority right now, as Congress does this negotiation and the debate and discussion,” Johnson said.
“The President could stop at section 212 F of the Immigration and Nationality Act [which] the Supreme Court has already acknowledged gives the President broad executive authority. He could close the border literally overnight,” he added.
When pressed on whether it is their obligation to voters to pass legislation, noting that executive action on the border under the Trump administration faced lengthy court battles, Johnson reiterated that the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2 in 2023.
“We did that nine months ago. And since we passed our measure in the House to solve this problem – and the reason we had to do it is because we saw that President Biden was not fulfilling his obligation under the law. That’s why this is such a failure– failure of leadership,” Johnson said.
“In the nine months since that bill has sat on Chuck Schumer‘s desk collecting dust, 1.8 million illegals have been allowed into this country. Welcomed into the country, sent around the nation into every community. Communities near everyone listening and watching this morning. And that is a catastrophe,” he added.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
When pressed again on working on legislative action, Johnson said the GOP-led House is “willing to work with the Senate” but also noted that “they have to be serious about it.”
Biden has promised to close the border if the proposed Senate bill — which is expected to be released on Sunday — passes through Congress. Republicans have countered Biden’s argument by claiming the president already has authority to act.
