Sen. John Cornyn of Texas touts leverage over Democrats in border security talks
Republican senators are confident in their ability to force Democrats and the Biden administration to cave on southern border policies that GOP lawmakers say would finally crack down on the record amount of illegal entries.
Negotiations over Republican border demands continued over the weekend as part of a broader emergency foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, with GOP lawmakers exercising their leverage.
“Now that we have the purse strings of Congress that Congress controls, we are hoping to use that as leverage to change those policies,” Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, said on “Fox News Sunday.”
After a weekslong stalemate, the White House and the administration became more involved in bipartisan talks last week.
“For the last three years, President Biden has demonstrated that he simply didn’t care. Well, apparently now he cares,” Mr. Cornyn said. “We’ve got his attention, and we intend to do something about it.”
Among the remaining sticking points is how the U.S. handles the asylum and parole processes for migrants, which conservatives say draw more illegal border crossings and allow those who enter the country to roam freely until their judicial proceedings.
