President Joe Biden (D) and Vice President Kamala Harris (D) continue to receive mounting criticism from lawmakers asking them to visit the border as crossings reach a new record high. While both sides of the aisle have warned that the issue must be addressed, a consensus has not been reached. In an exclusive interview with Texas Politics, both Texas Senator John Cornyn (D) and Texas Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R) discussed their thoughts on crossings and what they would like to see the Biden Administration do to respond to the concern.
Earlier this year, President Biden appointed Vice President Harris to take charge of issues pertaining to the border. In recent weeks, both Harris and Biden have been questioned by journalists as to why they haven’t visited the border.
When Texas Politics asked Senator Cornyn asked if Vice President Harris has spoken to him about the border concern, Cornyn answered “no, we haven’t had any outreach at all from the administration.”
In an effort to find common ground between both sides of the aisle, Cornyn clarified, “I’ve been working with Senator Sinema on a bill that I think would be helpful.” “I don’t hear anybody else offering any ideas,” he added, sharing that his work is “bipartisan and bicameral.”
In short, when asked if the Biden administration was moving forward to answer the call, Cornyn lamented that “they seem to be kind of oblivious.”
Rep. Van Duyne warned that the issue at the border “has only gotten worse" and that “this problem is not going to go away until it’s addressed.”
In an effort to ensure that the issue is addressed, Van Duyne suggested that both Biden and Harris should “talk to the people who are handling it firsthand.” This means talking to “customs and border patrol and border protection” along with talking to “DPS” and the DEA.
However, the Texas lawmaker argues that Harris “is trying to avoid having those conversations because then she can’t deny the solutions, so if she just doesn’t go down there, and she doesn’t face reality, then she can’t deny knowing it.”
