President Joe Biden said Saturday that House Republicans want to cut funding for border security and called for more resources to secure the southern border.
“MAGA House Republican proposals would slash funding for border security – a move that could allow nearly 900 pounds of fentanyl into our country. We need more resources to secure the border. Not less,” Biden tweeted from his government account. He posted a picture of himself with employees of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol below the tweet. Twitter users responded mercilessly to Biden’s tweet by criticizing his immigration policy and calling for it to be fact checked.
Biden’s tweet echoes a Mar. 20 White House statement about budget cuts proposed by the House Freedom Caucus (HFC). The White House claimed the HFC proposal would lead to 2,000 border patrol agents being cut, based on the Office of Management and Budget’s analysis of the Freedom Caucus’ proposal.
HFC responded to the White House statement, tweeting “All the money in the world won’t stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal crossings if the president won’t enforce the laws to secure the border.” The HFC plan does not say it would cut the number of border patrol agents, and HFC Chair Scott Perry described the plan as a “smear” to Fox News. A fact check by Newsweek rated the Biden administration’s claim as “false” based on the HFC response.