Senate Republicans killed a bipartisan border bill that would have essentially helped shut down the border earlier this year. Now, as border apprehensions reach a new low, and with President-elect Donald Trump setting to reenter the White House in just a few weeks, a small group of bipartisan senators are trying to give a border deal a second chance.
Republicans have stated their desire to move quickly on a border package, using the budget reconciliation process to get it done. But as GOP infighting continues, and Republicans have a razor-thin majority in the upper chamber of Congress, they will need support from Democrats to breeze through their proposals.
So far, in the bipartisan group working on a border bill 2.0, at least two Trump-state Democrats have been involved, which Sen. Marwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) described it as "very" serious and the details "very secret," Axios reports.
One of those Democrats is Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who was also among the top contenders to be Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate for the 2024 presidential elections, a post that ultimately went to Minn. Gov. Tim Walz.
"If there's willingness to work in a bipartisan way to do some stuff, not only on border security, but on immigration reform, it would be great."
The second Democrat is reportedly Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), who is up for reelection next cycle. He told Axios of the bipartisan border talks: "we're gonna be certainly engaged in efforts to make that happen."
However, there are more Democrats willing to join the conversation, according to Axios. Among them is Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) who— along with Trump— won her state this year. She has previously said she'd "like to be part" of bipartisan conversations.
Another Democrat to watch out for is Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), who said conversations about a bipartisan border deal wouldn't surprise him, saying "we've been clear as Democrats in the Senate that we're willing to work with our Republican colleagues to solve this problem."
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who has made recent headlines for seemingly cozying up to Republicans and the Trump camp, has also said he would support a bipartisan move on the border.
"I've been very clear that we need a secure border, absolutely... but also, I read that the President-elect even discussed protecting through DACA."
The talks come months after an initial bipartisan border bill was brought, and failed, in the Senate. That deal was brought by Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). Despite strong initial support from both parties, who gave serious concessions to reach a middle ground, the bill ultimately failed— in part because Trump himself wanted to campaign on the issue and didn't want to give Biden a win.
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