The White House dismissed repeated requests from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for a meeting with President Joe Biden, stating that there is no need for negotiations.
What Happened: The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, on Wednesday, again rebuffed Johnson’s request for a meeting with Biden amid border deal chaos, arguing that there is no need for negotiations.
“What is there to negotiate? Really, truly, what is the one-on-one negotiation about when he’s been presented with exactly what he asked for?” Jean-Pierre said.
“He’s negotiating with himself. He’s killing bills on his own.”
Johnson on Wednesday told the media that has been seeking a meeting with Biden for several weeks to discuss border and national security issues. However, the White House has not granted the request.
“A month I’ve been asking to sit down with the president to talk about the border and talk about national security, and that meeting has not been granted,” Johnson said.
“And I’m going to continue to insist on that, because they’re very serious issues that need to be addressed. And if the Speaker of the House can’t meet with the president of the United States, that’s a problem.”
Johnson has been advocating for a bipartisan national security funding bill that includes border security provisions. The Senate recently passed a bipartisan border security package, but Johnson has declared it “dead on arrival” in the House.
Why It Matters: The rejection of Johnson’s request for a meeting with Biden underscores the ongoing deadlock between the two parties on national security and border issues. This impasse has been further complicated by the collapse of a bipartisan border deal, which former President Donald Trump claimed credit for. Trump took pride in the failure of the bipartisan border deal during a speech to the National Rifle Association in Harrisburg, Pa., last week. He said, “I think we killed it. I think it’s dead!”
Biden also pointed the finger at Trump for the collapse of a border security plan. The plan, initially demanded by Republicans, aimed to tackle immigration and security issues at the U.S.-Mexico border. However, the deal was reportedly sabotaged by Republicans, allegedly under Trump’s influence, after four months of negotiations.
Meanwhile, the recent impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has further strained relations, with Biden criticizing the GOP for their actions. The GOP is gunning for Mayorkas for not being strict enough on border security and refusing to “comply with the law” as they assert that he violated immigration laws by failing to detain a sufficient number of migrants.
Photo by Trevor Bexon on Shutterstock
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