As a bipartisan deal on immigration, the border, and aid to Ukraine and Israel already faces what could become defeat in Congress through Republican opposition, former GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming is ripping Congressional Republicans for “abandoning” allies to the U.S.
House Republicans did produce a limited bill to provide some security assistance to Israel. A vocal subset of the party continues clamoring against basically any aid to Ukraine amid its defense against Russia.
“On Trump’s orders, Republicans in Congress are rejecting the border security deal. They’re also abandoning America’s allies in Ukraine. Trump and the GOP are losing the war on purpose in an inexcusable betrayal that will strengthen America’s enemies for years to come,” Cheney said online.
She wasn’t just assuming in placing blame on Trump. He has specifically spoken against the bipartisan deal, which emerged in the Senate after extensive negotiations. The proposal would give the federal government new powers to mostly shut the border in particularly strenuous conditions, but Republicans, led in part by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson of Louisiana, have characterized the proposal as somehow still deficient.
President Joe Biden characterized the alternative threatened by House Republicans as effectively just doing nothing. “If you believe, as I do, that we must secure the border now, doing nothing is not an option,” the president said on Sunday. “Working with my administration, the United States Senate has done the hard work it takes to reach a bipartisan agreement. Now, House Republicans have to decide. Do they want to solve the problem? Or do they want to keep playing politics with the border?”
Separately, his administration has also criticized the standalone funding bill oriented towards Israel as a “cynical” political maneuver glossing over areas where serious action is in order. “Just as legislative text is imminent, the House Republicans come up with their latest cynical political maneuver. The security of Israel should be sacred, not a political game. We strongly oppose this ploy which does nothing to secure the border, does nothing to help the people of Ukraine defend themselves against Putin’s aggression, and denies humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in prepared remarks.
