Johnson suggests Biden staffers blocking WH from closing border

As the Senate prepares to vote on an as-yet-unreleased border deal, conservative Republicans have insisted President Joe Biden needs no additional legislative authority to secure the border on his own, a move House Speaker Mike Johnson suspects White House staffers have prevented him from taking.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Thursday that he plans to hold a vote on the Senate border deal next week, though Johnson has previously poured cold water on the prospect of House passage, contending that the reported provisions in the deal would be insufficient to secure the border.

During a Friday appearance on the Fox Business network, the speaker urged Biden to close the border himself.

"He knows that he has the authority. We've documented it for him," Johnson said. "I've read to him the law myself, to the president, read him the provisions of the law and said 'Mr. President, please take action.'"

"I don't think he's allowed to do it. I'm not sure Joe Biden is actually making these decisions. I think it's staff around him, and they're pushing him to hold the - or to keep the border open," Johnson further asserted.

"The House did our job. Remember, we passed H.R. 2 that's our Secure the Border Act, months ago... if they really wanted to solve the problem, all he had to do was bring that up for a vote and send it to the president's desk but he refuses to do that," Johnson also said.

He further contended that Biden's own executive orders had created the crisis, in part by terminating the policies of his predecessor. Former President Donald Trump, for his part, has urged Republicans to oppose the legislation, pointing his own past actions as president to assert that Biden does not need any legislation to take action.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.