Senate Again Fails To Pass Border Deal as Dems Accuse Republicans of Bowing to Trump

A border deal crafted by a bipartisan group once again failed to gain enough support to pass in the Senate, as Democrats sought to frame Republicans as beholden to former President Donald Trump. 

The Details: The 43-50 vote failed to meet a 60-vote threshold, with one Republican joining Democrats in favor, and six Democrats joining Republicans in opposition. 

For Context: The agreement was initially negotiated by Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), and James Lankford (R-OK) after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) required border security be addressed “first” before approving more foreign aid for Ukraine. However, Trump lobbied against the bill, reportedly prompting Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to tell his colleagues, “The politics on this have changed.” Republicans have since argued that President Joe Biden should act on the border without Congress. 

Key Quotes: On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Republicans had “no good explanation” for their opposition “other than Donald Trump told them to do a 180-degree about-face.” On the other hand, Sen Lindsey Graham (R-SC) dismissed the criticism, saying, “Unfortunately, it doesn't matter what law is on the books if the administration is not going to enforce the ones that already exist.”

How the Media Covered It: Headlines often framed the bill differently; Axios (Lean Left bias) called it a “bipartisan bill,” and Fox News (Right bias) called it a “Schumer-backed border bill.” While NBC News (Lean Left bias) said “Senate Republicans” blocked the bill, the New York Post (Lean Right bias) said it “failed under bipartisan opposition.”