Former President Donald Trump harshly criticized the Senate’s bipartisan border security deal and foreign aid bill unveiled Sunday, warning that it could “mean the end” of the careers of Republicans who support it.
“It’s hard to believe because I think it probably would mean the end of their career,” Trump told NewsMax’s Rob Schmitt Tonight of Senate Republicans willing to sign off on the bill. “This is a Democrat trap. It’s a trap for Republicans that would be so stupid, so foolish, to sign a bill like this. This bill can’t be signed.”
On Sunday, the Senate released the long-anticipated 370-page bill, outlining $118.3 billion in total funding. The compromise, negotiated by Sens. James Lankford (R-OK), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), and Chris Murphy (D-CT), includes $60 billion for Ukraine, $20 billion for U.S. border security, and granted President Joe Biden’s request for $14 million to help Israel in its war in Gaza.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) quickly denounced the bill on social media, saying it would be “dead on arrival” if it reached the House without any changes. Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) echoed that sentiment, saying the bill in its current form would not be voted on in the House. Trump agreed with the House Republicans’ assessment that the bill would not pass their chamber.
“It’s so bad on the border. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Trump said. “Actually, it’s one of the worst, one of the dumbest bills I’ve ever seen. I think it’s dead, totally dead, at the House. I think I have almost unanimous or unanimous support, but I can’t imagine anybody wanting to approve this bill.”
Trump said it’s “impossible to believe that somebody actually negotiated” the bill, calling Lankford “a very nice guy” but adding the border deal is “not a good thing for him.”
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Trump took the opportunity to highlight his administration building “561 miles of wall” along the southern border, a number that’s been contested widely. According to PolitiFact, about 50 miles of new primary border barrier were built under Trump, while 458 miles of replacements and fixes to old barrier walls were built.
“You don’t need a bill,” Trump said. “I had the safest border in the history of our country. We had no bill. I just said, ‘Close the border’; it’s closed.”
