Conservatives Balk at GOP Border Deal ‘Cave’ to Keep Government Open
After Republicans and Democrats reached an agreement in principle on border security, details of the bipartisan budget deal to keep the government open Friday have begun to surface, and conservatives are calling it a “cave.”
“We’ve had a good evening. We’ve reached an agreement in principle between us on the Homeland Security and the other six bills,” Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., told reporters Monday night. According to The Hill, the budget deal will include $1.375 billion for physical barriers and 55 new miles of fencing, but specifically prohibits the construction of concrete wall. Democrats reportedly gave up on their demand to cap the number of ICE detention beds in the interior of the country to limit the number of illegal immigrants the Trump administration could detain and force law enforcement to focus on the worst violent criminals. But the overall cap on detention beds will drop, according to Washington Post reporter Erica Werner.
The agreement reached tonight would include:
-$1.375b for border barriers (55 new miles of bollard fencing)
-Dems drop call for new cap on ICE beds for detentions in interior
-Overall cap on detention beds drops from 49,057 to 40,520Per congressional official.
— Erica Werner (@ericawerner) February 12, 2019
These are the tentative details, the AP reports. The deal will be officially released Tuesday after congressional aides finish writing the legislation behind closed doors. But the compromise is already meeting opposition from influential conservatives.
“Any Republican that supports this garbage compromise, you will have to explain,” Fox News host Sean Hannity said Monday on his evening program.
Hannity criticizes "garbage compromise" on border wall funding pic.twitter.com/4zHo4tQtFa
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) February 12, 2019
Other prominent conservative personalities have called the details a “cave.”
Based on these reports, looks like congressional Republicans have caved again https://t.co/jstOSEDXLT
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) February 12, 2019
From details I have seen, the word “principle” shouldn’t be used to describe this deal. https://t.co/KNv0CpgPop
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) February 12, 2019
When you’re president because of 78k total votes in three states, you don’t have to suffer too much base slippage for it to be fatal. If you want Trump to be re-elected, urge him to reject this cave.
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) February 12, 2019
Trump needs to threaten to veto this right now. Disgrace that Shelby signed off on it https://t.co/FwVpJ3Lin6
— Daniel Horowitz (@RMConservative) February 12, 2019
This deal not only declines to fix catch and release, which is a bigger issue than strategic fencing, it induces more of it by cutting detention beds. Not worth it for 55 miles of fence.
— Daniel Horowitz (@RMConservative) February 12, 2019
To begin with, without getting rid of catch and release, nothing is worth it. Instead, this deal cuts detention beds by 17%. Not worth 55 miles of fencing. Time to deal with the cartels with military.
— Daniel Horowitz (@RMConservative) February 12, 2019
And the leaders of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are critical of the deal as well.
While the President was giving a great speech in El Paso, Congress was putting together a bad deal on immigration.#DoWhatWeSaid
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 12, 2019
This conference agreement is hardly a serious attempt to secure our border or stop the flow of illegal immigration. It kicks the can down the road yet again, failing to address the critical priorities outlined by Border Patrol Chiefs.
Congress is not doing its job.
— Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) February 12, 2019
So what will President Trump do with this deal as he’s briefed on it today? If his Monday night rally is any indication, he may intend to go ahead to build the wall with or without Congress.
“As I was walking up to this stage, I was told, ‘Progress is being made with this committee.’ Just so you know, we’re building the wall anyway,” Trump said in El Paso, Texas.
That could mean Trump intends to use the National Emergencies Act to requisition the funding for the wall from the Defense Department. Or, as White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney is pushing, the president can use an executive order to redirect funds from different government accounts toward a border wall. Both actions are likely to be challenged in court. (For more from the author of “Conservatives Balk at GOP Border Deal ‘Cave’ to Keep Government Open” please click HERE)
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