The White House on Monday accused House Speaker Mike Johnson of flip-flopping on immigration, pushing back on Republican efforts to scuttle compromise legislation aimed at reducing the number of migrants crossing the southern border.
In a statement, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Mr. Johnson had previously stated that only Congress had the authority to tighten border security, but changed his tune after Mr. Biden strode into office so he’d have ammunition for political attacks.
Ms. Jean-Pierre pointed to previous comments by Mr. Johnson in which he stated congressional action was necessary to grant a president the authority to secure the border.
“Until recently, Speaker Johnson advocated for H.R. 2 because, in his view, presidents needed new legal authorities in order to secure the border. What’s more, the Trump administration argued the same — with the full-throated endorsement of then-Congressman Mike Johnson,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said in a statement. “If Speaker Johnson continues to believe — as President Biden and Republicans and Democrats in Congress do — that we have an imperative to act immediately on the border, he should give this administration the authority and funding we’re requesting to secure the border.”
The statement came less than 48 hours after Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, demanded that Mr. Biden take unilateral action instead of waiting for Congress to pass the legislation that would give the president more authority to tackle the immigration crisis.
The White House pointed to a 2019 comment from Mr. Johnson in which the lawmaker said it’s the responsibility of Congress to correct loopholes in the immigration system.
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On Saturday, Mr. Johnson blasted Mr. Biden‘s claims that only Congress can empower him to close to the Southern border, saying the statement “was untrue.”
“As I explained to him in a letter late last year, and have specifically reiterated to him on multiple occasions since, he can and must take executive action immediately to reverse the catastrophe he has created,” Mr. Johnson said on X.
The White House says it needs new powers to solve the border. Republicans say President Trump had a secure border with the same laws that are still available to Mr. Biden, and that he used to solve a 2019 surge without help from Congress.
In December 2020, the last full month under Mr. Trump, Customs and Border Protection recorded roughly 92,000 nationwide encounters with unauthorized migrants. Four years later, in December 2023, Mr. Biden saw four times that number.
Mr. Johnson and other conservatives are unhappy with the immigration deal, saying it still allows too many border crossings and doesn’t go far enough to screen migrants coming into the country.
Under the proposal, Mr. Biden would have the authority to shut down the border at 4,000 encounters per day. Mr. Biden has said he would welcome that authority and use it aggressively.
Once the shutdown is enforced, it would take two weeks of significantly lower crossings to reopen the border to crossings other than asylum appointments.
Mr. Biden on Friday urged Congress to pass the law, marking the strongest stance he’s taken against illegal immigration so far.
“What’s been negotiated would — if passed into law — be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country,” Mr. Biden said in a statement. “It would give me, as President, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed. And if given that authority, I would use it the day I sign the bill into law.”