The Senate on Wednesday rejected a bill that welded foreign military aid with what was billed as a border security package.
The bill, which was violently opposed by former President Donald Trump, failed on a 49-50 vote, according to NBC.
Republican Sens. James Lankford of Oklahoma, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah supported the bill, according to The Washington Post. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell opposed it.
Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Alex Padilla of California and Ed Markey of Massachusetts opposed the bill, as did Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent.
JUST IN — Senate rejects $118 billion Ukraine-Israel border bill in a 50-49 vote. pic.twitter.com/IDLpifT4vL
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) February 7, 2024
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Emotions ran high after the vote. Murkowski lashed out at the bill’s opponents.
“I have a difficult time understanding again how anyone else in the future is going to want to be on that negotiating team — on anything — if we are going to be against it,” she said, according to CNN.
“I’ve gone through the multiple stages of grief. Today I’m just pissed off,” she said.
Was the border bill a good bill?
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said the bill deserved to be defeated, according to The Hill.
“Why is this bill a terrible bill? Because it does not solve the problem,” Cruz said.
“This bill was designed not to secure the border. Instead, this bill codified Joe Biden’s open borders,” he said.
Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said the vote reflected a lack of faith that the Biden administration would use the bill’s provisions to stem the flood of illegal immigrants across the Southern Border.
“The fact of the matter is we have no confidence, zero confidence, that the Biden administration will enforce the law when it comes to the border,” he said.
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said the months since the proposed military aid bill was unveiled by President Joe Biden in November have been troubled, according to the Post.
“I don’t think that the last three months could have been handled any worse than it has been handled from a leadership perspective. It’s just been a total disaster,” he said.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said a vote on military aid alone would soon follow.
“Now I think we have to move on to Ukraine, Israel and continue to govern,” he said.
The Senate border surrender bill is MIGRANT FIRST with Americans footing the bill.
Joe loves it because it’s a legalized fast track super highway for the world to invade America, NOT BORDER SECURITY.
It doesn’t stop the flow it speeds it up.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) February 7, 2024
According to The New York Times, the $118.3 billion package that went down in flames called for spending $60.1 billion in military aid to Ukraine and $14.1 billion in military support for Israel. An additional $10 billion was set aside for victims of global crises, which included Palestinians.
The bill would have set aside $20 million for the southern border through more border agents and more detention facilities.
The bill included a mechanism for closing the border that would take effect if the average of migrant encounters tops 5,000 in a day, based on a one-week average, or if the one-day total topped 8,500. The bill gave the president the power to close the border if encounters topped 4,000 per day over a week.
