Internet trashes 'coward' Mike Johnson as he says border deal is 'even worse than expected'

WASHINGTON, DC: House Speaker Mike Johnson slammed the long-awaited border deal, unveiled by Senate negotiators on Sunday, February 4, aimed at securing the US-Mexico border, reported The Hill.

The Republican Congressman expressed his outrage, stating the agreement was "even worse than we expected" in an X post hours after its release.

"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.

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

The 370-page legislation is the result of months of negotiations. However, it is at the risk of failure ahead of the bill kept for a vote in the Senate, and if passed, it is highly likely to lead to a clash with the House. The result remains to be seen in the coming weeks amid former President Donald Trump's opposition and his active lobbying among GOP Senators to kill the bill.

What does the long-sought border deal include?

According to CNN, the deal negotiated by Senators James Lankford, Chris Murphy, and Kyrsten Sinema gives the US President extensive power to impose a limit on illegal migration at the southern border significantly. The deal, if passed, would be a dramatic change in the country's immigration laws after decades. 

Based on a report by The Hill, the deal contains provisions to improve the standards of asylum screenings to speed up the applications. It also authorizes the Homeland Security secretary to close the border if the migrant crossings reach a particular threshold.

Additionally, the agreement will simplify the process for migrants to obtain work authorization and eliminate the backlog in immigration courts.

Besides funds for borders, the $118 billion agreement includes financial aid to Israel and Ukraine.

President Joe Biden "strongly" supported the long-anticipated deal.

"Now we've reached an agreement on a bipartisan national security deal that includes the toughest and fairest set of border reforms in decades," he wrote in a statement issued by the White House.

The incumbent's border management policies had been a debate point in light of his re-election bid. Trump allies, including Speaker Johnson, had been at the forefront, slamming him about the worsening crisis at the southern border.

Internet reacts to Mike Johnson's remarks on border deal

Johnson, who was "pretty frequent" with the Republican frontrunner Trump on the border crisis, received widespread backlash from netizens for criticizing the bipartisan border deal.

One user said, "He knows it would easily pass. He’s a coward and a do-nothing."

Another user opined, "And by worse he means worse for Trump's political campaign."

"Building his defense line for when he does the bidding of Dear Leader," a third response read.

One user stated, "He's even worse than we expected." Another added, "You think he actually read the bill? My money is in on no."

"Admit it, you had no intention of accepting it in the first place. More game playing," read a sixth remark. 

Another user questioned, "Then why won't you allow a vote? I mean, if it's so bad and all."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.