Johnson pushes Biden for executive action on border

Speaker Mike Johnson is pressing President Joe Biden to take executive action to address the surge in crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border.

In a letter Thursday to the White House, Johnson said the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol is at a “breaking point” as it tries to combat illegal migration and he argued the “catastrophe” requires Biden’s “full attention and commitment.”

Johnson said the president should take actions to turn back or detain those who cross the border, restart construction of former President Donald Trump’s border wall, craft expedited removal procedures for migrants who can’t meet asylum requirements, as well as cease the “exploitation of parole authority.”

“All of this is the direct result of your administration’s policies,” Johnson wrote. “You have clearly undermined America’s sovereignty and security by ending the Remain in Mexico policy, reinstating catch-and-release, suspending asylum cooperative agreements with other nations, ignoring existing restraints on the abuse of parole, and halting border wall construction.”

During a White House press briefing later Thursday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pushed back against the GOP leader casting blame and calling for executive action.

“The president has done everything that he can, right, on his own,” she said when asked about Biden using unilateral powers to address the border. She noted the administration had asked for additional CBP resources and is engaging in diplomatic talks with the Mexican government.

Jean-Pierre, who said she had not seen Johnson’s letter, also skirted around questions about whether Biden has the executive authority to take action as Johnson laid out. And she laid some blame at the speaker’s feet, arguing Johnson let the House leave town amid active border security negotiations. Additionally, she claimed the House GOP plan, a conservative-favored House-passed bill known as H.R. 2, would make border matters worse.

“It cuts costs, cuts law enforcement, it does not help at all,” she said, adding: “We want to make sure we come to a bipartisan agreement.”

Johnson’s letter comes amid ongoing bipartisan negotiations on a potential deal to pair Biden’s $100 billion-plus national security spending plan with stricter border policies. But negotiators aren’t expected to secure a deal before next year, with the House and Senate already breaking for the holidays. As POLITICO reported this week, Johnson has told allies he does not plan to call the House to return before their scheduled return date of Jan. 9.

In the letter, Johnson also touted the House GOP’s border bill to argue that the onus is on the Biden administration to take action.

But that conservative measure is a non-starter in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Meanwhile, progressives and Hispanic Caucus members have raised concerns about the agreements being made by the bipartisan Senate working group, which has kept its work largely secretive.

Still, the Biden administration is increasingly more focused on addressing the border heading into an election year, as polls indicate that voters disapprove of the president’s handling of the topic so far.