Mike Johnson Finally Admits Why He’s Killing the Border Deal
House Speaker Mike Johnson had a foot-in-mouth moment on Tuesday, absentmindedly admitting to reporters that he has courted Donald Trump’s opinion “at length” on the border deal he wants to kill.
“The former president has made it clear that he doesn’t want you guys to move forward on this, and judging by his comments, he clearly wants to campaign on this issue. Have you spoken to him about the Senate proposal, and are you simply trying to kill this to help him on the campaign?” probed CNN’s Manu Raju.
“No, Manu, that’s absurd,” Johnson retorted before ranting about the federal government’s job to “protect its citizens.”
“We have only a tiny, as you know, a razor-thin—actually, a one-vote majority right now in the House. Our majority is small, we only have it in one chamber, but we’re trying to use every ounce of leverage that we have to make sure that this issue is addressed.”
“I have talked to former President Trump about this issue at length, and he understands that. He understands that we have a responsibility to do here. The president, of course—President Trump wants to secure the country. President Trump is the one that talked about border security before anyone else did. He ran on, as you remember, building the wall. Why? Because he saw this catastrophe coming,” Johnson continued.
Reporter: Trump has said he doesn’t want you to move forward on this… Are you trying to help him campaign on this?
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 30, 2024
Johnson: That’s absurd… I have talked to Trump on this issue at length.. pic.twitter.com/SK7YxF3g4Z
Republican officials have become increasingly audacious in giving away the game on the border deal. On Friday, Senator Josh Hawley explicitly tied the GOP’s border security grandstanding to a coordinated effort to hurt President Joe Biden’s reelection chances.
“There is absolutely no reason to agree to policies that would further enable Joe Biden,” Hawley told Fox News.