On Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) revealed in a "Dear Colleague" letter that the Senate would yet again consider what has been touted as a bipartisan border bill, though such legislation actually won't help to fix the crisis at the southern border. Weeks prior, Democrats such as Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) looked to tease bringing back the bad border bill. We now know that a vote will take place on Thursday.
The Senate is prepared to take up the bipartisan Border Act this week
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) May 20, 2024
A tough, serious, bipartisan proposal to secure our border
Trump had urged the GOP to kill this bill—saying “blame it on me”
But Democrats’ commitment to act never waned
And the American people want action pic.twitter.com/J3NkZZMd4L
As Spencer reminded in covering Schumer's plans earlier on Monday, the bill still remains dead on arrival in the Republican-controlled House, just as it did when the text of this horrendous bill was first introduced in February.
POLITICO's Burgess Everett posted on Monday about the Thursday date in mind, with Fox News Chad Pergram noting Schumer is looking to break the filibuster on Tuesday, calling it the majority leader's "punctuation point on border security before the Memorial Day recess."
Schumer says the Senate will vote on Thursday -- right before a schedule recess -- on the bipartisan border legislation
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) May 20, 2024
"This bill was written explicitly with the goal of getting support from both parties"
Schumer announces he will file cloture on the motion to proceed to break filibuster on bipartisan bill tomorrow. That will ripen on Thursday. Needs 60 yeas. It will not. This will be Schumer's punctuation point on border security before the Memorial Day recess
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 20, 2024
The White House may have reached out to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), per Punchbowl's Jake Sherman, but the speaker is standing strong on this issue.
White House says Biden called McConnell and Johnson today to push for the border bill. Via pooler @tylerpager pic.twitter.com/IwDWcgZumE
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 20, 2024
My joint statement with @SteveScalise, @GOPMajorityWhip, and @RepStefanik on the Senate taking up failed immigration legislation this week:
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) May 20, 2024
For more than three years now, Congressional Democrats have stood by while the Biden Administration has opened our borders to criminal drug…
It remains to be seen as to if the bill even reaches the House. Although Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) initially had words of praise for the so-called compromise bill in February, he quickly shifted his stance and Senate Republicans killed the bill.
They're likely to do it again. As Everett also wrote in his POLITICO article on Monday night:
Thursday’s vote is expected to be similar to the February roll call, with a handful of defections possible in each party (Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) said he’s a “big no,” for example). The GOP already rejected it once after Trump turned on the legislation, and there’s a recess scheduled for next week — not exactly a sign there’s much confidence it will get 60 votes to advance.
...
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) dismissed the vote as “all political.”
“Most people see this for what it is: And that is sort of a naked attempt by the Democrats to get political cover on an issue that is a huge political liability for all of the folks that are running this year,” said Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.). “This is not a serious attempt to have a debate on this.”
...
National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson Mike Berg said that “no voter is going to believe Democrats are now the party of border security after watching their actions on the issue for the last decade.”
Biden, Schumer, Murphy, and other Democrats place all the blame on former and potentially future President Donald Trump, but polling from around the time the bill first failed showed Biden received far more blame. After all, the current president is the one who is supposed to be in charge and who keeps teasing but refuses to take executive action to fix the crisis at the border. What executive action he has taken, including on his very first day in office, has weakened border security. Trump's fault or not, the bill was also objectively a bad border bill that wouldn't actually fix the problem.
Schumer has continued posting about the bill into Monday night.
Three months ago, Senate Republicans blocked the strongest, most comprehensive border security bill we’ve seen in a generation.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) May 20, 2024
This week, I’m putting the bipartisan bill back on the Senate floor.
Because the American people want action and bipartisan solutions.
Further, for all of his tough talk, Schumer leaves out how Republicans last May passed HR 2-the Secure the Border Act, which actually would do something about the border. On Monday, Johnson reposted the House Homeland GOP account issuing such a reminder, in the form of a quoted repost of Schumer.
The House Homeland GOP's pinned post is also from May 10, just around that one-year anniversary of HR 2.
It's been 375 days since @HouseGOP PASSED the strongest border security bill in history.
— House Homeland GOP (@HomelandGOP) May 20, 2024
Sadly, Senate Dems have chosen to ignore this legislation, and instead focus on a bill that they cannot even pass themselves.
The American people deserve better, Leader Schumer. https://t.co/qskXiD7X8o
Tomorrow marks one year since @HouseGOP passed H.R. 2—the strongest border security bill in history.
— House Homeland GOP (@HomelandGOP) May 10, 2024
Over the past year, Biden & Mayorkas’ crisis has only gotten worse, but Senate Democrats still refuse to vote on this important legislation. pic.twitter.com/YNBbb7xp2p
To his credit, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has indicated he could support for the bill.
It is curious what Schumer has time for and doesn't have time for, and that includes issues related to the border. In February, the House impeached Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. While the House did its constitutional duty in delivering the articles to the Senate last month, Schumer and Senate Democrats did not do their duty. Rather, Schumer made the unprecedented move to dismiss the two articles of impeachment, with Senate Democrats also voting against amendments offered by Senate Republicans along party lines.