Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma has been scolded by the Oklahoma Republican Party for what the party said was his support of a deal that will be produced in the Senate to address concerns about the leaky Southern Border.
The bipartisan deal, which is not yet final, would hand President Joe Biden the authority to shut the border when it is considered to be overwhelmed, according to Politico.
Former President Donald Trump has voiced his opinion in a Truth Social post that read, “A BAD BORDER DEAL IS FAR WORSE THAN NO BORDER DEAL!”
Lankford, who has been the lead Republican negotiator on any Senate agreement that is developed, told CBS he is upbeat about the deal.
“I do feel very positive about it because even the initial feedback has been good,” Lankford told “Face the Nation,” adding that criticism of the deal is based on “internet rumors.”
But back home in Oklahoma, storm clouds are brewing over the deal. Republican state Sen. Dusty Deevers posted on X the text of the resolution slapping Lankford’s knuckles for his role in the deal.
“Resolution Condemning & Censoring Senator Lankford’s Open Border Deal” as approved by the OKGOP State Committee members on January 27, 2024. pic.twitter.com/peVqHAfIpt
— Dusty Deevers (@DustyDeevers) January 27, 2024
The resolution opens by saying Lankford is partnering with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in “an open border deal to allow 5,000 illegal immigrants a day to enter and work in the United States.”
Do you support the border deal?
Yes: 1% (5 Votes)
No: 99% (509 Votes)
It adds that Lankford “playing fast and loose with Democrats on our border policy not only disenfranchises legal immigrants seeking citizenship, but it also puts the safety and security of Americans in great danger.”
The resolution says that “authorizing several thousand people to invade our border before any action can be taken is contrary to the oath that Senator Lankford took to the Constitution and therefore outside of the area that he is authorized to negotiate in.”
The resolution says that the state’s Republican Party “strongly condemns Senator James Lankford, if and to the extent that he continues these actions, and calls upon him to cease and desist jeopardizing the security and liberty of the people of Oklahoma and of these United States.”
Further, it says that “until Senator Lankford ceases from these actions the Oklahoma Republican Party will cease all support for him.”
Trump ally Roger Stone chastised Lankford on X.
.@SenatorLankford went from being a border hawk before the last Republican senatorial primary to being in favor of allowing more than 5000 illegals to cross every day. What do they have on him ? pic.twitter.com/WEL3kXgc7V
— Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) January 28, 2024
The diminutive Senator from Oklahoma Lil’ @SenatorLankford is being blackmailed over his cover up of Child sex abuse at Falls Creek to support open borders -Oklahomans must demand his resignation! #Oklahoma https://t.co/qNmhheR2Ef
— Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) January 28, 2024
Former GOP state Chairman Anthony Ferate said in a post on X that the meeting was not legally convened.
“Today an extreme faction of the @officialOKGOP held a meeting without providing an official call to all members of the State Committee, including me, to attack Senator @jameslankford. Any vote taken by the OKGOP today was not legitimate and definitely does not represent the voice of all Oklahoma Republicans,” he wrote.
In a statement, party vice chairman Wayne Hill said the state committee is “committed to holding elected Republicans accountable to the standards set forth in the OKGOP platform which supports limited legal immigration,” according to Newsweek.
“It is our hope that Sen. Lankford will acknowledge the direction of the state committee and do all in his power to defend our border from the current invasion,” he said.
Hill noted the divide in the party, saying, “the grassroots movement in Oklahoma is strong and growing, because we take action and not provide empty promises.”
Hill called Ferate “a protector of the old guard of establishment Republicans” and “out of touch with the pulse of our OKGOP state committee membership.”
