The Chief Political Analyst at Fox News has criticized hardline Republicans for killing a border bill negotiated in the Senate.
"I think these are a couple of issues that put Republicans in peril of looking like literally a do-nothing Congress," Brit Hume told the station on Wednesday, referring to the border security bill shot down by the House and the potential rejection of funding for Ukraine.
The GOP-led House struck down the $118 billion bill in the Senate on February 7, with conservative hardliners arguing the legislation does not go far enough in its efforts to end illegal immigration.
Fox News Chief Political Analyst Brit Hume criticizes Republicans for killing "The strongest border protection bill that I've seen in my time in Washington":
"I think these are a couple of issues that put Republicans in peril of looking like literally a do-nothing Congress" pic.twitter.com/zHmAnVGHTL — Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) February 15, 2024
A bill of around $95.3 billion in Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan was approved in a vote in the Senate on Tuesday, but House Speaker Mike Johnson has said it won't make it to the House floor.
The package includes $9.15 billion in humanitarian aid to give to conflict zones like Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine.
Hume argued Republicans were "in danger of losing the advantage they have vis à vis Biden on the issue of the border and on the issue of Ukraine funding, Israel funding, funding to defend Taiwan because they are refusing to act on these measures that would deal with that..."
Newsweek has approached Speaker Johnson's office for comment via an email outside of working hours.
In a statement on Monday, Johnson said: "[In] the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters."
Texas National Guard troops try to untangle an immigrant caught in razor wire after he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into El Paso, Texas on January 31 from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Republican hardliners said a deal... Texas National Guard troops try to untangle an immigrant caught in razor wire after he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into El Paso, Texas on January 31 from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Republican hardliners said a deal agreed in the Senate did not go far enough on border security provisions. More John Moore/Getty Images
The following day, President Joe Biden urged Johnson to bring the bill to the House so it could be passed. "I call on the speaker to let the full House speak its mind and not allow a minority of the most extreme voices in the House to block this bill even from being voted on," the president said.
"This bipartisan bill sends a clear message to Ukrainians and to our partners and to our allies around the world—America can be trusted, America can be relied upon and America stands up for freedom," Biden continued. "We stand strong for our allies, we never bow down to anyone, and certainly not to Vladimir Putin."
Johnson and Republican hardliners have demanded the foreign aid package include funding for border security. They rejected the $118 billion aid package, including $20 billion for securing the U.S.-Mexico border, brought by a group of Senate Republicans and Democrats last week.