A border deal to nowhere? House GOP ready to reject Senate compromise on immigration

A trio of senators have spent weeks laboring to cut a complex immigration deal with the Biden administration – all in an effort to curtail the surge of migrants at the southern border while easing passage for aid to Ukraine and Israel.

But a growing number of House Republicans are issuing a blunt warning: A Senate compromise stands virtually no chance of passing their chamber.

The warning underscores the grim prospects of seeing a narrowly divided Congress come together on a hot-button issue like immigration, which Republicans in particular have made central to their campaigns for the White House and control of both chambers.

In interviews with CNN, a wide-range of House Republicans said that they would only accept a border deal that resembles the hardline immigration bill that passed their chamber last year – known as HR 2 – even though Senate Democrats and the White House strongly oppose that plan and call it a non-starter.

And some Republicans were even more direct, suggesting that any deal should be rejected if it could bolster President Joe Biden’s standing ahead of November.

“Let me tell you, I’m not willing to do too damn much right now to help a Democrat and to help Joe Biden’s approval rating,” Rep. Troy Nehls, a Texas Republican, told CNN. “I will not help the Democrats try to improve this man’s dismal approval ratings. I’m not going to do it. Why would I? Chuck Schumer has had HR 2 on his desk since July. And he did nothing with it.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks while standing with Republican members of Congress on Wednesday in Eagle Pass.

House Speaker Mike Johnson knocks Biden for ‘catastrophe’ at border during Texas visit

Even some House Republicans in key swing districts have signaled