Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, expressed optimism during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” asserting that a border deal could be achieved in the coming days. Nevertheless, he emphasized that if the agreement fails to materialize, the responsibility would lie with House Republicans.
During his interview, Coons highlighted that President Biden has called for congressional involvement, expressing hope that they were nearing the completion of a border deal. However, he noted that the responsibility for another year of potential crossings into the United States through the southern border, resulting in deportation or rejection, would rest on the House GOP if they declined to address or consider the matter.
These recent statements emerge as leaders in Congress have been collaborating on a consensus with the primary party representatives in each legislative chamber.
In the previous week, President Biden, along with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and other leaders from Congress, convened at the White House with national security experts. The focus of the meeting was a discussion on the situation in Ukraine and the significance of the United States extending assistance to the country.
In the latter part of the previous year, the White House presented a proposal that aimed to combine funding for the southern border with assistance for Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific region. Nonetheless, there has been no bipartisan consensus reached on this matter in Congress.
Johnson, who holds a slim majority in the House, is under significant pressure to resist the requests of conservatives in his caucus. This is because the border policies advocated by conservatives are unlikely to gain approval in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
