GOP Congressman Opposes Bill So Biden Can’t Campaign on It: ‘Why Would We Do Anything Right Now?’

Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) said the Republican-controlled House should not pass bills that President Joe Biden can tout ahead of November’s election.

Senators are finalizing legislation to address border security and immigration, but it is unclear if will have the necessary 60 votes to break a filibuster. The bill faces even longer odds in the House, partly because former President Donald Trump said any such bill should not be passed unless it is “perfect.” Trump plans to campaign on the issue in the general election against Biden.

CNN’s Manu Raju laid out the key issues facing Congress in the near term on Thursday’s edition of CNN News Central.

“This sets up a major showdown between the Senate and former President Donald Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill over an issue central to the 2024 campaign: immigration and the crisis of that southern border,” he said. “And with it, what about aid for Ukraine and Israel? Now, Republicans have demanded for months that the border must be dealt with first before they would green-light more aid to Ukraine and Israel.”

CNN then aired clips of Raju speaking with a cigar-wielding Nehls, who cited Biden’s low approval numbers.

“Why would we do anything right now to help him with that 33%?” Nehls asked. “Do you believe if Joe Biden’s approval rating was at 53%, we would even be talking about the border? We wouldn’t be talking about the southern border. But he has to do something because he’s hemorrhaging. He’s bleeding.”

Nehls added that the effort to come up with a border security bill is “nothing but hogwash.”

The Texas congressman isn’t the only GOP lawmaker concerned about passing legislation that Biden could hold up as accomplishments. On Wednesday, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said he may oppose a bipartisan tax bill because it “makes the president look good.”

Watch above via CNN.