Progressive detractors tank Schumer's narrative in voting against border bill

The Senate on Thursday failed to advance border security provisions that had originally featured in a bipartisan package pairing them with $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, with a handful of Democrats joining Republicans to shut down the plan.

Democratic Sens. Laphonza Butler, Calif., Cory Booker, N.J., Ed Markey, Mass., and Alex Padilla, Calif., joined independent Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and the Republicans in voting against it, according to Spectrum News. Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders also opposed the measure.

In explaining his vote, Booker said that the legislation "includes several provisions that will violate Americans' shared values" and that it "misses key components that can go much further in solving the serious immigration problems facing our nation," CBS News reported.

Ahead of the 43-50 vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had attempted to paint Republicans as the chief roadblocks to border security, highlighting prior Republican opposition to the aid package.

"It’s been 106 days since Donald Trump and the Republicans blocked the strongest, most comprehensive border security bill in a generation. And they still don’t have any plan except exploiting the border for Trump’s political gain," he posted on X.

Speaking on the "Just the News, No Noise" television show in an interview to be aired later this week, Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson excoriated the bill as "worse than doing nothing."

"The biggest problem with that bill, though, is it literally weakened the President's authority to secure the border," he went on. "The Supreme Court ruled in 2018. The current law exudes deference to the president. President Trump used that executive theory to secure the border. President Biden used that exact same executive authority to open it up. So he has that authority."

"So when Congress weighs in past the law, and grants some authority that implies that he didn't have the authority before and even worse, they take that authority way after three years," he concluded.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.