Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., told Newsmax on Monday that President Joe Biden doesn't need the newly unveiled $118 billion Senate border bill to fix the crisis at the southern border.
"He doesn't need this to control the border," Gimenez said on Newsmax's "National Report." "Joe Biden can snap his fingers right now, pen a couple executive orders, restore some of the Trump administration policies and the border will be secure again, or at least much more secure than it is right now.
"So, this is kind of giving him an out: Hey, I needed congressional legislation to fix this problem and here, I got it. So, all these three years have been the Republicans' fault because they haven't given me the tools that I need. It's all false. It's all a bunch of lies."
The Senate on Sunday unveiled a $118 billion bipartisan border security bill that includes $20.23 billion for border security, $60.06 billion in Ukraine aid, $14.1 billion in Israel security assistance, $2.44 billion for U.S. Central Command and the Red Sea conflict, $4.83 billion to support U.S. partners in the Indo-Pacific facing Chinese aggression, and $10 billion in humanitarian assistance for civilians in conflict zones including Ukraine, Gaza, and the West Bank.
Asked about the bill's chances of passing in the GOP-controlled House, Gimenez said the legislation's fate depends on what House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., does with it.
"I think it's pretty much dead on arrival," Gimenez said. "If he doesn't put it on the floor, it's dead. Now, if it goes on the floor, it has a chance of getting passed because … all of the Democrats are probably going to vote for it and, since we have such a slim majority, if only a handful of Republicans vote for it it'll pass. But I don't think it's going to see the floor."
According to Gimenez, who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee, the Senate bill "allows 5,000 migrants per day" to enter the U.S. "before you close the border."
"That's almost 2 million people a year," he said. "That's 150,000 per month. In Donald Trump's four years, 700,000 actually crossed. That was 150,000 a year. So, this is 12 times that number. I don't trust the Biden administration to actually come through with whatever is said in that document. We've seen how he's basically ignored the law right now."
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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