Biden hits out at Trump and Republican allies for blocking border bill

President Joe Biden on Tuesday took direct aim at Republicans in Congress and the man they take direction from, former president Donald Trump, slamming both for blocking a carefully-crafted bipartisan compromise bill that would implement sweeping changes in the US immigration system and provision defence assistance funds for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.

In remarks from the State Dining Room at the White House, Mr Biden described the legislation crafted by White House negotiators and a group of senators led by Republican James Lankford of Oklahoma, Democrat Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Arizona independent Kyrsten Sinema as a “bipartisan agreement that represents the most fair, humane reforms in our immigration system in a long time and the toughest set of reforms to secure the border ever”.

He also acknowledged that at this time, “all indications” show the bill has no chance of advancing in either the House or Senate, and laid out the “simple reason” Republicans are blocking the bill.

“Why? A simple reason, Donald Trump,” he said. Bcause Donald Trump thinks it’s bad for him politically, therefore… even though it helps the country he’s not for it — he’d rather weaponize this issue,” he said.

Mr Biden noted that Mr Trump has done “nothing” in the last day except “reach out to Republicans in the House and Senate, and threaten them and try to intimidate them to vote against this proposal”.

“Frankly, they owe it to the American people to show some spine and do what they know to be right,” he said, adding that the bill has the support of the US Chamber of Commerce and the union representing rank-and-file border patrol agents.

He explained that the bill is the result of the “extraordinary effort” made by senate negotiators