Senate Releases Border Deal, Johnson Declares Bill "DOA" In House 2/2

A campaign from Ukraine advocates, including a speech last week by NATO Sec Gen Jens Stoltenberg at a Trump-aligned conservative think tank in Washington D.C., has failed to convince House Republican leadership to back the bipartisan Senate plan to overhaul border policy and release funds for Ukraine and other US allies.

• House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said in a statement on X: "I’ve seen enough. This bill is even worse than we expected... If this bill reaches the House, it will be dead on arrival."
• House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) said: “Let me be clear: The Senate Border Bill will NOT receive a vote in the House.”
• Johnson will instead carve out the Israel funding for a standalone vote, leaving Ukraine aid gridlocked and keeping the border issue 'live' ahead of November's election. A strategy which White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre described as a, "cynical political maneuver."
• Johnson said in a House speech last week that President Biden already has sufficient executive authority to secure the border. That assertion have been challenged by Senate Republicans, and legal experts, and prompted Democrats to argue Johnson's hardline position is designed to insulate former President Donald Trump from a Biden win on border policy.
• With House Republicans lining up against the bill, it is difficult to see Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) securing enough Senate Republican votes to send a powerful message to the House. A handful of progressive Democrat Senators are also expected to vote against the bill to protest the closing of citizenship pathways.