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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., harshly rebuked Joe Biden’s lack of action in securing the U.S. border, criticizing the Executive Office for refusing to utilize proper authority to protect American sovereignty.
Speaker Johnson wrote on X, “President Biden said ‘I’ve done all I can do’ with executive authority to secure the border. That is simply untrue. He’s either lying or misinformed.”
He noted that there were at least four authorities that Biden could utilize to secure the border:
- “Presidential Authority to Restrict Entry 212(f),
- Expedited Removal 235(b)(1),
- Discretionary Detention Authority 236(a),
- Mandatory Detention 236(c).”
Johnson concluded, “No more excuses.”
The border crisis has continued to escalate over the past year as millions of illegal migrants have poured into the United States. December 2023 marked a record-high for monthly border encounters, with the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol reporting over 302,000 encounters in a single month.
In January, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) condemned the Biden administration’s failure to secure the southern border.
25 Republican-led states have declared their solidarity with Texas after the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily ruled that federal authorities could remove razor wire at the Lone Star State’s border.
Speaker Johnson is not the only one to point out that Biden has the authority to secure the U.S. border.
Bill Melugin, a Fox News correspondent who has spent a tremendous amount of time reporting on the U.S. southern border, posited his opinion on X. He refuted the notion that Biden needed the supposed authority endowed in an upcoming proposed Senate border bill.
Melugin explained, “Kirby says Biden needs the authority in the bill. That is not true. The same authority Biden used to reverse almost every Trump policy at the border – including terminating the national emergency declaration at the border upon taking office – can be used to make significant changes.”
For reference, John Kirby is the coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House.
Speaker Johnson has strongly criticized the so-called bipartisan border security bill that the Senate is poised to send to the House amid reports that it contains aspects that would enable 5,000 border crossings per day and authorize more funding to Ukraine.
If so, Politico reported that Johnson stated the bill would be “dead on arrival.”
