Schumer to Johnson on border deal: ‘Do. The right. Thing!’

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to take up the bipartisan deal on the border unveiled by Senate negotiators Sunday night.

Schumer addressed Johnson on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday, pushing the Republican to help address the issue at the border and to not be swayed by the far-right members of his caucus. Johnson already expressed his opposition to the proposed deal Sunday night, saying it was “even worse than what we expected.”

“I say to Speaker Johnson: Don’t let the 30 hard-right people in the House who are extreme — they wanted us to default, they wanted the government not to pay its debts, they wanted … the government to shut down. They’re extremists, and they’re running your show,” Schumer said.

“Do. The right. Thing! You know what the right thing to do is. You know we need to fix our border. You know that it has to be bipartisan,” he added.

Bipartisan negotiations on the border spearheaded by Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) were underway for months. The proposed deal includes measures to raise standards for asylum screening and to process claims faster, closes loopholes that allow for parole or “catch and release,” and provides new authority to close the border after a certain number of border crossings.

The $118 billion national security supplemental also includes $60 billion for Ukraine, $14.1 billion for Israel and aid for Indo-Pacific allies in addition to the bipartisan border agreement.

Schumer continued to call on Johnson to get something done on the border, noting the Republican leader has criticized the handling of the border in the past.

“How are you going to get anything done? Or do you just want to make a speech, as you admittedly say the border is — you say the border is in chaos. Do something about it. Don’t just politically posture,” Schumer said.

Schumer also said he is “hopeful” the bipartisan agreement will pass the Senate, noting that it is Johnson’s “nightmare” that the upper chamber approves it.

“But once we pass it in the Senate, God willing, I think there’ll be huge pressure from within his caucus and without to get this done,” he said, adding that he believes there would be votes from Democrats and Republicans in the House for the bill.

Johnson suggested it will face an uphill battle in the House in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.

“I’ve seen enough. This bill is even worse than we expected, and won’t come close to ending the border catastrophe the President has created. As the lead Democrat negotiator proclaimed: Under this legislation, ‘the border never closes,’” Johnson wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“If this bill reaches the House, it will be dead on arrival,” he added.

When reached for comment Monday, a spokesperson for Johnson’s office referred The Hill to a joint statement from House Republican leadership statement.  

Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) issued the joint statement on the Senate deal Monday, calling it “a waste of time.”

“It is DEAD on arrival in the House. We encourage the U.S. Senate to reject it,” the lawmakers wrote.

Updated at 1:43 p.m.