On Thursday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to reject a Senate spending bill. DeSantis emphasized that the proposed changes in the bill were not substantial enough to address the ongoing illegal immigration crisis at the southern border, as he discussed during an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. The deal presented by Senate Democrats and President Biden included funding for Ukraine, Taiwan, Israel, and minor adjustments to border law, according to Hewitt.
“Speaker Johnson said no. I want this rejected unless there are 900 miles of border wall authorized in a way that cannot be avoided and constructed with current dollars,” Hewitt said. “What do you think of the deal that was offered? What do you think Speaker Johnson should say?”
“Yeah, it should be dead on arrival,” the Republican presidential candidate responded.
“We have an unprecedented crisis at our border where we’ve had over eight million people come in illegally from all over the world, including from hostile nations with hostile populations. And yet Biden is basically just greenlighting it. When he’s asked for money in the past, it hasn’t been to stop the illegal immigration. It’s been to process more illegals. And we’re now in a situation where New York City is closing down a school, sending the kids home so that they can commandeer it to house illegal aliens? It’s crazy. And of course, this has made us vulnerable to terrorist attacks.”
DeSantis emphasized that Republicans should demand the resolution of the border crisis through this package, which should include funding for the border wall. He also stressed the need to address existing language in immigration law that, according to him, has allowed President Biden to “abuse his power” and let the immigration crisis unfold.
“The public is with the Republicans on this. This is Biden’s issue,” DeSantis said. “Of all the issues that he’s handling, and he’s unpopular on most, this one is, like, the worst. He’s got the worst ratings that any president has ever had on immigration and the border. You guys can win this fight. Just hold firm.”
