Johnson Dismisses Biden’s Border Consideration As ‘Election Gimmick’

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is warning against election gimmicks by President Joe Biden as he ramps up his efforts to get reelected in November’s election. Taking a shot at the commander-in-chief in a statement on Thursday, Johnson made it clear that American voters “have lost faith” in Biden and “won’t be fooled by election year gimmicks that don’t actually secure the border.”

“Nor will they forget that the President created this catastrophe and, until now, has refused to use his executive power to fix it,” he added.

Johnson’s statement comes in reaction to reports that Biden is considering executive action that will restrict asylum claims by blocking unlawful crossings into the country. The action, which involved Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, will give Biden the power to foreigners who are considered “detrimental” to U.S. interests from entering the country.

But Johnson is not having it, as he took issue with the fact that Biden previously vowed that he has done everything in his power to address the crisis at the border.

“These reports also underscore just how brazenly and intentionally President Biden misled the public when he claimed he had done everything in his power to secure the border. Specifically, the President’s alleged desire to invoke Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which the White House dismissed using for months, is particularly telling,” Johnson’s statement read.

“If these reports are true and the President intends to take action, he can show he’s serious by changing more than asylum policy. He should begin by reinstating the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy and ending his administration’s abuse of the parole system, along with other critical reforms,” the House leader wrote further, alluding to previous suggestions he made to Biden after the Senate shot down a border security bill passed in the Republican-controlled House.

My statement regarding President Biden finally admitting he has the authority to address the border catastrophe he has created: pic.twitter.com/GUWeeb05pW

— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) February 22, 2024

In reaction to Johnson’s statement, White House spokesman Andrew Bates took a retaliatory shot at the House leader, saying, The only consistent theme in Speaker Johnson’s wildly fluctuating excuses for opposing bipartisan border security legislation — and for continuing to side with fentanyl traffickers instead of the Border Patrol — is that he is playing politics with the wellbeing of American families.”

“For six straight years, Speaker Johnson demanded border security legislation, only for House Republicans to balk as soon as they saw the strongest bipartisan border deal in modern history and kill it, explicitly citing Donald Trump’s concerns that making America safer would diminish his campaign,” he added, ending with a call for House members to return from their vacation and pass the bipartisan border security bill passed by the senate.