President Biden said Tuesday that the administration is weighing whether he has the sole power to close the southern border with Mexico should the need arise.
“We’re examining whether or not I have that power,” Biden said in an interview with Univision’s Enrique Acevedo, shared Tuesday, referencing a potential need for congressional action.
“When the border has over … 5,000 people a day trying to cross the border because you can’t manage it, slow it up. There’s no guarantee that I have that power all by myself without legislation,” he continued. “And some have suggested I should just go ahead and try it. And if I get shut down by the court, I get shut down by the court.”
“But we’re trying to … work through that right now,” the president added.
His comments come just months after the most recent bipartisan bill including border security funding failed because Senate Republicans blocked it.
In his State of the Union address last month, Biden pushed for Congress to send a bill to his desk. He also placed blame on former President Trump after the border security package collapsed.
“I’m told my predecessor called Republicans in Congress and demanded they block the bill,” he said at the time.
“He feels it would be a political win for me and a political loser for him,” Biden added. “It’s not about him or me. It’d be a winner for America.”
One of the architects of the border deal, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), could be seen mouthing “that’s true” during the address, after Biden touted that the deal would have resulted in the hiring of more border agents and immigration judges to assist in making the asylum process faster.
Biden doubled down on his comments Tuesday, claiming he wouldn’t give up on the bipartisan bill.
“When Trump found out that I liked it and I supported it, and I’d get, ‘credit’ for it, he got on the phone — not a joke — checked with the Republicans and called them and said, don’t be for it, will benefit Biden,” Biden said of the bill.
“When the hell would you vote on a major piece of legislation based on whether you benefit somebody that’s in politics? It’s either good or it’s bad,” he continued. “It was a good piece of legislation, and I’m not giving up on it.”
Trump reveled in the border deal’s failure in remarks to National Rifle Association members in Harrisburg, Pa. back in February.
“You give illegals taxpayer-funded lawyers, so they have millions of dollars in this agreement, in this deal, which we by the way killed,” Trump said in a speech, potentially referencing to a measure in bill that would have provided immigration lawyers to unaccompanied children.