Senator @markwarner: GOP changing goal posts on border policy pic.twitter.com/A0QD3UZyFm
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) December 6, 2023
On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) stated that the number of people crossing the border isn’t sustainable and failure to fund Ukraine would be a disaster, but he wouldn’t vote for immigration policy changes if they were the House’s proposal.
After host Jake Tapper asked why Ukraine, Israel, and border money shouldn’t just be put together, Warner responded, “That’s what Schumer’s going to put on the floor tomorrow, $14 billion, the second-biggest biggest number in the $106 billion supplemental is border funding. Amen, I’m all in on border funding. What I think also happened is, I agree there [need] to be policy changes. We’re at over 10,000 folks coming across the border the last couple of days, that is not something that’s sustainable. And there was this three-week negotiation and there were efforts on asylum, there were efforts on parole, count me in as yes on those changes. But my understanding is the goalposts keep changing, in that they’re trying to say the full House bill, H.R. 2, take or leave it. The unique thing is, I think all 51 Democrats are for Ukraine in the Senate, about half the Republican caucus is never going to vote for Ukraine under any circumstance. So, yeah, should we do something on [the] border? Count me in. But the idea that they’re going to pound their feet if they don’t get 100% of what they ask, and in the meantime, basically play to Putin’s hand…I’d be open to voting for [border policy changes] as long as it didn’t completely go as far as the H.R. 2 bill that no Democrat, I believe, in either [the] House or the Senate would ever support.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
