According to Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), “if the border isn’t protected,” I will not vote in favor of government financing.
When Kristen Welker of NBC questioned Donalds about his willingness to shut down the government throughout border security, he responded angrily. He changed his response to saying that President Biden “is ready to close down regarding border security” when questioned if he would be ready to shut down the government in the event that funding ran out. Biden had never before expressed a willingness to see the government shut down.
Welker persisted in pressing Donalds on the matter, but the Republican from Florida insisted that he would be willing to back government financing for as long as the border “is protected.”
“So long as our border is protected, I am ready to assist the government.” Securing the border is the government’s top priority. “Do you give money to a business that offers a service if they fail to deliver on their promise?” he stated. “No, is the response. You fail to even attempt that,” Kristen.
“The government is accountable. Our cities are infested. There are too many people in our schools. Our refuges are crowded. And Joe Biden permits the catastrophe to go on,” he continued.
Donalds responded, “I am not going to be voting for any money if the border is not protected,” when questioned if he was going to shut down the government if he “did not observe a border security measure in the deal.”
This week, Congress is scheduled to reassemble in Washington ahead of two significant spending deadlines. In their rush to come to an agreement on government expenditure, they’re given until March 1 to fund a few organizations and until March 8 for the remainder.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) pronounced a bipartisan border security agreement that included funds for Ukraine, Israel, and friends in the Indo-Pacific region dead on arrival when it was announced by the Senate previously this month.
The previous month, Donalds seemed to advocate for tougher border regulations and questioned the talks around a bipartisan agreement.
During the time, Donalds stated, “This is the reason we don’t pay attention to the Senate Republicans,” in an interview.