Although Congressional Republicans are currently pushing for immigration policy changes as a precursor to aid for Ukraine, one GOP representative admitted Wednesday that he’s not keen on supporting any legislation that would benefit President Joe Biden politically.
“Let me tell you, I'm not willing to do too damn much right now to help a Democrat and to help Joe Biden’s approval rating,” Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) told CNN. “I will not help the Democrats try to improve this man’s dismal approval ratings. I'm not going to do it. Why would I?”
Nehls said he is in favor of an immigration bill that passed the House last year in a party-line vote, and which has yet to be taken up by the Senate.
"Chuck Schumer has had HR 2 on his desk since July. And he did nothing with it,” Nehls said of the bill, which the Biden administration opposes, claiming it “would cut off nearly all access to humanitarian protections” and “does nothing to address the root causes of migration.”
HR 2 would restart construction of the border wall, enact harsher punishments for those who overstay their visas, and lessen the number of those granted asylum.
Nehls’ comment was reminiscent of his stated motivations for pursuing an impeachment of Biden, as told to USA Today last month: giving Donald Trump “a little bit of ammo to fire back” if he is the GOP’s nominee for president.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, likewise, boasted last spring that Trump’s polling numbers were benefiting from his investigation into Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings.