Harris blames Trump for migrant crisis over 'tanked' border bill

Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday blamed former President Donald Trump for the ongoing situation at the southern border, lamenting that he "tanked" a bipartisan border security bill.

"I strongly supported the comprehensive border security bill written last year, written last year, as you know, by a bipartisan group of senators, including one of the most conservative members of the United States Congress, that bill would have hired 1,500 more border agents and officers," she said during a speech near the border in Douglas, Ariz.

Negotiated by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., the bill would have paired $95 billion in foreign aid with border security provisions. The package failed, prompting Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to advance only the foreign aid portion. Prior to the vote, Trump called the bill "horrendous" and urged Republicans to vote against it.

"It was the strongest border security bill we have seen in decades. It was endorsed by the Border Patrol union, and it should be in effect today, producing results in real time right now for our country," she said. "But Donald Trump tanked it... because, you see, he prefers to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem."

Drawing much of Trump's ire was a provision requiring a border shutdown if illegal crossings exceeded 5,000 per day over a five-day average, which he saw as legitimizing that many illegal crossings.

Harris subsequently vowed to revive the bill if elected president.

"And so even though Donald Trump tried to sabotage the border security bill, it is my pledge to you that as President of the United States, I will bring it back up and proudly sign it into law," she said.