- Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday rejected the idea that Trump is “in control” of the House.
- Johnson defended the House Republican Conference's position on border security on NBC's “Meet the Press.”
- The Senate is scheduled to unveil a border security plan this week, but House conservatives denounced it.
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday rejected the idea that former President Donald Trump is “in control” on border security.
Johnson made the remarks on NBC's “Meet the Press.” After being pressed by anchor Kristen Welker. Trump's continued influence over legislative issues on Capitol Hill and whether the former president was dictating his party's approach to immigration reform efforts.
Mr Johnson said: “Of course not. He doesn't have the power to make the decisions. I have the power to make the decisions for the House of Commons.” “That's our responsibility.”
“And I've been saying this much longer than President Trump,” he continued. “I've been saying what the requirements are to fix the problem. I don't care if they call this bill HR2. What we're saying is, we have to stem the flow. That means it must be done.”
In an interview with NBC, Johnson argued that President Joe Biden has the executive authority to curb illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border, which has been a major issue for Republicans since his first year in office. HR 2, the tough immigration bill passed by the House Republican majority last year, is the only bill many conservatives will embrace, but it is not the first move for the White House and Senate Democrats.
“The president now has executive power,” the Louisiana Republican said. “As Congress is doing this negotiation, debate, debate, the president could stop it.”
“He could literally close the border overnight,” the speaker continued, referring to Biden.
The president said last month that if the Senate passes a bipartisan border security bill, he would “shut down the border” whenever there is an anticipated congestion of border crossing attempts.
Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner, has staked his 2024 candidacy on immigration, arguing that Biden is refusing to properly secure the southern border. The former president has encouraged Republicans to withdraw from the Senate's border security plan, which is expected to be announced this week along with additional funding for Ukraine.
