Hans Nichols and Stef Kight
Axios Phoenix
Congressional GOP leadership quashed any hope of a bipartisan border security solution this week and both parties are looking to shuffle the blame, Jessica reports with Axios’ Hans Nichols and Stef Kight.
Why it matters: A massive influx of immigrants at the southern border has caused a multitude of issues in Arizona border communities — most notably the monthlong closure of the Lukeville Port of Entry.
Border security is expected to be a key issue among Arizona voters in both the presidential election and U.S. Senate race.
Driving the news: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell officially pulled the plug on the border deal he helped negotiate Tuesday, acknowledging that pro-Trump Republicans would never allow it to become law in an election year.
House Republican leadership had already indicated it would be dead on arrival.
The big picture: Former President Trump hasn’t made any effort to hide his calculus that the legislation, which also included funding for Ukraine and Israel, would have hurt Republicans at the ballot box.
“This is a gift to the Democrats. And this sort of is a shifting of the worst border in history onto the shoulders of Republicans,” Trump said Monday on the “The Dan Bongino Show.”
He and his supporters, including U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake, have chastised the deal, saying it wouldn’t do enough to stop illegal border crossings.
The other side: “This bill won’t even move forward to the Senate floor. Why? A simple reason: Donald Trump,” President Biden said Tuesday
