Speaker of the House Mike Johnson would not say categorically on Wednesday whether or not border wall funding will be included in the final immigration security deal Congress is currently negotiating.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers have been working on a deal that would provide aid to both Israel and Ukraine as well as funding for a border security package, as part of a larger government funding deal that must be decided by Jan. 19. Johnson appeared on the Hugh Hewitt radio show to discuss details of the deal but did not definitively confirm whether a border wall would be included in the package, even after being asked about it multiple times. (RELATED: Mike Johnson And Chuck Schumer Reach Government Funding Deal, But Some Republicans Are Reportedly ‘Pissed’)
The border crisis is unacceptable.
President Biden’s policies are to blame.
House Republicans must hold the administration accountable for this failure. pic.twitter.com/87kCroFBuB
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) January 10, 2024
“Will there be a wall in the immigration deal that includes Israel and Ukraine funding?” Hewitt asked Johnson during an interview on Wednesday.
“Well, that’s a great question. It really is about more than the wall, though,” Johnson responded, noting that the House had passed the “Secure the Border” (H.R. 2) bill in May, which has not yet been passed by the Senate. “It’s been sitting on Chuck Schumer’s desk for that many months collecting dust. Right now, there’s a negotiation in the Senate, and it’s between the White House and the Senate on some sort of, I guess, proposal that would solve this. But we have yet to see the text of it. And I’ll just say I’m cautiously optimistic, Hugh.”
“Well, let me repeat, though, very specifically. I am looking for one thing and one thing only,” Hewitt said. “Will that kind of language, that kind of guarantee of 900 miles of wall, be in this bill or you will not support it?”
Johnson responded that he and his colleagues are “fighting for it vigorously” before outlining other border security policies that could stave off the worsening migrant crisis at the border. Hewitt then asked whether he had told the Democratically-controlled Senate if the inclusion of a wall in the deal would be a deal-breaker.
“I’ve communicated it directly. I said all the elements of H.R. 2, the functional equivalent of it, and the wall is a big piece of that – of course, with these other policy changes,” Johnson said. “And that’s what we are working to do.”
“I just think the base will desert you, and we will lose the majorities if we don’t come up with the wall. They have to give us the wall,” Hewitt responded.
Under the current continuing resolution, federal funding for many government agencies will run out on Jan. 19 and funding for the military and other programs will run out on Feb. 2, unless both chambers of Congress can agree on a deal before those dates. Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer reached an agreement for a deal on Sunday and now have less than two weeks to finalize details, including whether a border wall will be included.
Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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