Sen. Lankford says Senate bill ‘flips the script’ on Biden border policy
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., breaks down what is in the new border security Senate bill
Former President Trump reacted to the newly released Senate immigration bill by calling it "horrendous" and a "gift to Democrats" while calling for immigration and foreign aid to be dealt with in separate bills.
"Only a fool, or a Radical Left Democrat, would vote for this horrendous Border Bill, which only gives Shutdown Authority after 5000 Encounters a day, when we already have the right to CLOSE THE BORDER NOW, which must be done," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday morning.. "This Bill is a great gift to the Democrats, and a Death Wish for The Republican Party. It takes the HORRIBLE JOB the Democrats have done on Immigration and the Border, absolves them, and puts it all squarely on the shoulders of Republicans. Don’t be STUPID!!!"
Trump continued, "We need a separate Border and Immigration Bill. It should not be tied to foreign aid in any way, shape, or form! The Democrats broke Immigration and the Border. They should fix it. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!"
In a follow up post, Trump called the bill a "highly sophisticated trap."
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to a crowd during a campaign rally on September 25, 2023 in Summerville, South Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
"The ridiculous ‘Border’ Bill is nothing more than a highly sophisticated trap for Republicans to assume the blame on what the Radical Left Democrats have done to our Border, just in time for our most important EVER Election," Trump wrote. "Don’t fall for it!!!"
The long awaited release of the Senate immigration bill on Sunday night sparked backlash from conservatives including House Speaker Mike Johnson who called the bipartisan $118 billion border security and foreign aid package is "even worse than we expected" and would be "dead on arrival" in the lower chamber.
Republicans have taken issue with a provision of the bill that states the border will be shutdown only when 5,000 illegal immigrants a day cross the border as well as the billions of dollars of spending attached that goes to Ukraine and Israel.
What the bill text does is create a new "border emergency authority" to turn people away, which may be used if the average number of migrants encountered reaches an average 4,000 per day across a seven-day period. The authority would be mandatory if that number hits 5,000.
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Senator James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, outside the Senate Chamber at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Those powers can be used for up to 270 days in the first year of implementation, a number that gradually decreases before the authority sunsets altogether in three years.
"Let me be clear: The Senate Border Bill will NOT receive a vote in the House," House Majority Leader Scalise wrote on X. "Here's what the people pushing this 'deal' aren't telling you: It accepts 5,000 illegal immigrants a day and gives automatic work permits to asylum recipients — a magnet for more illegal immigration."
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House Freedom Caucus members urged their conservative Senate colleagues to reject the recently unveiled border security compromise, claiming it does not go far enough to curb the migrant crisis.
"It’s clear why Democrats waited until the last minute to drop this dumpster fire of a bill, it’s far worse than we could have expected," former Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry, R-Pa., told Fox News Digital on Sunday night after the legislation was released. "The Senate must reject this American sellout."
Dec. 12, 2023: Migrants are processed in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Fox News)
Oklahoma GOP Sen. James Lankford, a sponsor of the bill, defended the legislation in a Fox News appearance on Monday morning.
"This authority is a 5,000 authority to say if you get to 5,000, which we've been there every single day except for 7 in the last 4 months, that it completely closes the border down, it deports everyone," Lankford said. "It changes the paradigm from right now what the Biden administration is doing catching and releasing everyone to actually catching and deporting everyone."
"It literally flips the script on it."
"The key aspect of this, again, is are we, as Republicans, going to have press conferences and complain the borders bad and then intentionally leave it open after the worst month in American history in December?" Lankford added. "Now we’ve got to actually determine, are we going to just complain about things? Are we going to actually address in a change as many things as we can if we have the shot?"
Fox News Digital reached out to Sen. Lankford’s office regarding Trump's social media post but did not immediately receive a response.
Fox News Digital's Liz Elkind contributed to this report
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