I’m fairly positive nobody has ever accused me of being gentle on MAGA Republicans, however at the moment’s cartoon may be too form to Speaker of the Home Mike Johnson.
Former President Donald Trump has expressed his vehement opposition to the border-control invoice that has been labored out between a bipartisan group of senators and President Joe Biden. Such collaborative progress on the thorny immigration issue would undercut the central theme of Trump’s marketing campaign to return to the White Home. For egocentric causes, the twice-impeached ex-president wants chaos on the border with Mexico to proceed.
So, Trump has directed pleas and threats at Home Republicans, efficiently hardening opposition to the Senate invoice. The query is, with out these threats, may Johnson have let the laws come up for a vote within the Home? Is Johnson cowering earlier than Trump — as within the cartoon — or is he asserting his personal curiosity in retaining the immigration debate sizzling and divisive in order that he and his Home GOP colleagues can exploit the difficulty in their very own reelection campaigns?
In all probability each. Both manner, there’s a excessive stage of hypocrisy at work. Johnson and his cohort have hammered away on the immigration situation for years, demanding more durable border insurance policies. Now that they’ve the chance to truly institute extra stringent measures, although, they’re refusing to take a vote that might rob them of the flexibility to maintain flogging the difficulty for their very own political profit.
In a FOX TV interview, Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, one of many key Republican authors of the laws, excoriated Johnson and Republicans within the Home for his or her opposition.
“Are we, as Republicans, going to have press conferences and complain the border is unhealthy, after which deliberately go away it open?” Lankford mentioned. “Are we going to simply complain about issues or truly deal with and alter as many issues as we will?”
Mike Johnson has given Lankford the reply to his questions. The speaker desires to maintain Trump pleased and the Republican base riled up and offended, and he apparently believes the way in which to do this is to do nothing in regards to the troubles alongside the border and hope Biden will get the blame.
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