Biden Denies Plan For $450,000 Payments To Separated Families: 'Not Gonna Happen'

President Joe Biden dismissed a “garbage” Wall Street Journal report from last week that alleged his administration was considering paying about $450,000 to each individual separated from their family at the U.S.-Mexico border, saying that the purported plan to settle several lawsuits filed against the federal government on behalf of the immigrants was not under consideration.

After a Fox News reporter asked about the reported payments in a Wednesday press conference, Biden called the WSJ report that cited several anonymous sources “garbage” and “not true.”

Biden didn’t entirely deny that a settlement was in the works though, continuing, “$450,000 per person, is that what you said? That’s not gonna happen.”

The lawsuits stem from a policy under former President Donald Trump’s administration, in which immigrants seeking political asylum from Mexico were separated from their families at the border between 2017 and 2018, and defendants are seeking compensation for their alleged trauma.

The Biden administration’s reported settlement plan was widely ridiculed by Republicans, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday, “Honestly, this absurd idea feels like a satirical policy proposal that Republicans would have invented to make a parody out of the radical left.”