Chuck Schumer Claims Bipartisan Border Deal 'Failed Because It Was Too Strong For Donald Trump'

7 months ago

During remarks on the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke about the bipartisan Senate border deal that was killed by Republicans after Donald Trump voiced his opposition to it.

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Transcript

00:00Now on the border. Three months ago, Madam President, three months ago, Senate

00:05Republicans blocked the strongest, most comprehensive border security bill we've

00:11seen in a generation. This week, Republicans will get another chance to

00:17do the right thing. Border security, we all know, is one of the most contentious

00:21issues that we have to wrestle with in Congress. But most people agree the

00:26status quo cannot continue. Our southern border is in desperate need of more

00:30resources, and our immigration system is in serious need of repair. President

00:35Biden, in recent weeks, has taken many actions to increase sanctions against

00:40human rights abusers, reform asylum, and enhance drug enforcement to the maximum

00:45extent his office allows. But, as our Republican colleagues have said for

00:50years, the only long-term solution to the border is bipartisan

00:56legislation from Congress. Well, there is good news. Such bipartisan legislation

01:02does exist, and is ready to go. I'm talking, of course, about the Bipartisan

01:07Border Act negotiated earlier this year by Senators Murphy and Sinema and

01:12Lankford, and endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council, the Chamber of

01:16Commerce, and the very conservative Wall Street Journal editorial page. This week,

01:22the Senate will have an opportunity to move again on this bill. For the

01:27information of my colleagues, tomorrow I plan to file cloture on the motion to

01:32proceed to the Bipartisan Border Act. The Senate will then vote on our bipartisan

01:39border bill on Thursday. All those who say we need to act on the border will get

01:44a chance this week to show they're serious about fixing the problem. Let me

01:49repeat, the Senate will vote on our bipartisan border bill on Thursday. All

01:54those who say we need to act on the border will get a chance this week to

01:58show they're serious, serious about fixing the border. I implore my

02:04Republican colleagues to join us in advancing this bill. We're going to need

02:09bipartisan support if there's any hope of getting this bill done. I will be

02:14clear, we do not expect every Democrat or every Republican to come out in favor

02:19of the bill, but as I've said before over and over again, the only way to pass this

02:25bill is with broad bipartisan support. I will expect to see, I expect to see that

02:31on the Democratic side, and I hope we'll see it on the Republican side as well.

02:36This bill was written explicitly with the goal of getting support from both

02:42parties, unlike messaging bills like H.R. 2, which did not have bipartisan support

02:48to get through both chambers. And the bill we're voting on this Thursday is

02:52practically the same bill that Senators Murphy and Sinema and Lankford and

02:57others negotiated three months ago. Republicans agreed to the substance of

03:02this bill. It is not at all some new measure or something that comes only

03:07from the Democratic side. The bill we'll vote on this Thursday reforms asylum,

03:12boosts staffing at the border, cracks down on drugs like fentanyl, and gives

03:17emergency powers to shut the border when crossings meet a certain threshold. All

03:22issues Republicans have said we must address. If our bipartisan border bill

03:28was good enough to win the support of the union that represents Border Patrol

03:31officers, it should be good enough to win the support of Senate Republicans. If you

03:36judge this bill by its substance and take out the partisanship injected by

03:41Donald Trump, it is objectively a tough, serious-minded, and critically a

03:47bipartisan solution to the border. In fact, when we released this

03:53bill earlier this year, many of our Republican colleagues were surprised at

03:57how strong it was, at least in private. For a short while, it seemed like we

04:01finally had a bill both parties could link arms on and pass together. Of course,

04:06we all know what happened. Donald Trump happened. He barged into the border debate

04:11and publicly came out against the bill, and the rest of his Republican

04:15supporters fell into place like dominoes. Let me be clear. The border bill did not

04:21fail three months ago because it was too weak. On the contrary, the border bill

04:26failed because it was too strong for Donald Trump's liking and risked taking

04:31away an issue he wanted to exploit on the campaign trail. He said that himself.

04:36Again, the border bill did not fail three months ago because it was too weak. It

04:41failed because it was too strong, too strong for Donald Trump's liking, and he

04:46and it risked taking away an issue he wanted to exploit on the campaign trail.

04:50As we all know, he was explicit about his intentions. He said, blame it on me.

04:57As if this was all one giant game to Donald Trump. He really doesn't care

05:03about the border. He just cares about the politics and the gamesmanship. Well, we, the

05:10American people, do not have the luxury of playing games with border security.

05:14The issue is too important to ignore, and the bill we negotiated earlier this year

05:19is too good to pass up. So we're going to give Republicans another chance this

05:23week. In the words of one of my Senate Republican colleagues when we worked on

05:28the border bill earlier this year, this moment will pass. Do not let it pass.

05:34I couldn't agree more.

Chuck Schumer Claims Bipartisan Border Deal 'Failed Because It Was Too Strong For Donald Trump'

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