Schumer 'hopeful' Senate will pass bipartisan border bill despite opposition from GOP hard-liners
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer expressed optimism over a bill to impose stricter immigration and asylum laws, despite opposition from hard-right Republicans.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer expressed optimism Monday over a bipartisan bill that seeks to impose stricter immigration and asylum laws, saying he believes it will pass the Senate despite opposition from hard-right Republicans.
“I’m confident — ‘hopeful’ is the right word,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” when he was asked about the bill’s chances of passing in the Senate. “This is hard. And our Republican senators — we need a bunch of them — are under a lot of pressure from right-wing Trump part of the party.”
Senators released the text of the bipartisan bill Sunday night after months of negotiations. The $118 billion bill, which comes amid record-high crossings at the southern border, includes foreign aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. Republicans have said they would support aid to those countries only on the condition that it is paired with new policies to restrict U.S. immigration.
The bipartisan package faces opposition from House Republican leadership and other conservatives, including several members of the House Freedom Caucus. Shortly after senators released the text of the bill, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Sunday night on X that “it will be dead on arrival” if it reaches the House.
Schumer said the bill is a “compromise,” which he added is “the only way you get important things done” in the Senate. He blamed pressure from former President Donald Trump and his allies for the hard-right Republicans’ opposition to the legislation.
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