Romney: ‘Appalling’ Trump wants to kill border bill so he can ‘blame Biden’

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Thursday took aim at former President Trump for pushing Republican lawmakers to oppose a border deal so that he could use the issue to campaign against President Biden in the 2024 presidential election.

Romney told CNN’s Manu Raju he thought it was “really appalling” that Trump would try to prevent progress on addressing the surge in migration at the southern border.

“I think the border is a very important issue for Donald Trump,” Romney said. “And the fact that he would communicate to Republican senators and congresspeople that he doesn’t want us to solve the border problem because he wants to blame Biden for it is really appalling.”

“But the reality is that we have a crisis at the border, the American people are suffering as a result of what’s happening at the border, and someone running for president ought to try to get the problem solved as opposed to saying, ‘Hey, save that problem. Don’t solve it. Let me take credit for solving it later,’” Romney continued.

Romney’s remarks come after weeks of negotiations on a potential legislative package that addresses border security and provides funding for Ukraine and other allies. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his allies have warned that Republicans are unlikely to get a similar deal at any other moment, even if Trump wins reelection.

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But Trump’s influence looms large over the party, especially among House conservatives, and the prospects for getting the deal through Congress with sufficient GOP support looks increasingly unlikely.

Last week, Trump made his position clear on social media when he wrote, “I do not think we should do a Border Deal, at all, unless we get EVERYTHING needed to shut down the INVASION of Millions & Millions of people.”   

McConnell on Wednesday floated the possibility of splitting the national security package, noting border security reforms now increasingly look unlikely to pass.

A source told The Hill on Wednesday that Senate Republicans who support the bill think the concessions extracted from Democrats would be “huge wins,” but that it’s becoming clear Trump opposes the package, which could prevent its passage in the GOP-controlled House.

“The Trump people want to kill it and run on the issue,” the Senate source familiar with internal GOP talks told The Hill Wednesday.