In a House floor speech on Tuesday, Texas Republican Representative Chip Roy challenged former President Donald Trump's assertion that any president could unilaterally close the southern border via executive order, noting that not even Trump did that when he was in office.
Roy's comments came after House Republicans rejected a bipartisan Senate border security bill, suggesting that President Joe Biden should use executive orders to stop all migrants from entering the United States.
Additionally, Trump had earlier issued a post on Truth Social claiming that "ALL A PRESIDENT HAS TO DO IS SAY, 'CLOSE THE BORDER' AND THE BORDER WILL BE CLOSED." Trump also dismissed the border security bill as "UNNECESSARY."
You can see Trump's post below.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
Roy shot down the idea that simply declaring the border closed would be effective and noted Trump did not follow his own advice while President:
“No, we’re not just going to pass the buck and say that, ‘Oh, any president can walk in and secure the border. All a president has to do is declare the border’s closed, and it’s closed.'"
"Well, with all due respect, that didn’t happen in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. There were millions of people that came in the United States during those four years.”
You can hear what Roy said in the video below.
Roy emphasized the importance of maintaining Republican unity on the issue, urging the party to refocus on practical border security policies rather than engaging in divisive tactics. He called for continued efforts to secure the border through legislative means, elections, and the potential future presidency of a Republican candidate.
Many echoed Roy's criticisms.
The speech followed an unexpected failure in a House vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
A recent hearing focused on "marking up" articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, with Republicans accusing him of a "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law" and a "breach of public trust" regarding his handling of the border crisis. Mayorkas vehemently denied the accusations, emphasizing the extensive information and cooperation provided to Congress to showcase adherence to immigration laws. No high crime or misdemeanor, which is the standard for impeachment, has been alleged.
Earlier, President Biden attributed the collapse of the bipartisan $118 billion proposal, addressing immigration policy changes and aid for Ukraine and Israel, to Trump, who told an audience during one of his rallies to "please blame" him for the collapse of the border deal.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social