The Biden administration's decision to waive 26 federal laws in South Texas and allow the construction of an additional 20 miles of border wall is "too little, too late," according to former Vice President Mike Pence, a 2024 GOP presidential candidate.
"For heaven's sake, let's just get on with it," Pence said Thursday on the SiriusXM program "The Megyn Kelly Show." "A nation without borders is not a nation."
Pence added that the wall is "just part of the equation," and called for a return of the "remain in Mexico" policy and other measures.
"We absolutely have to deputize courts and prosecutors around the country to process the over six million asylum applicants that are now strewn all over the United States," Pence said. "People need to know."
Critics are saying the move vindicates former President Donald Trump's immigration policies. President Joe Biden said Thursday said he does not favor a border wall, but that he had no choice but to use the funding from Trump's presidency for construction.
Pence told Kelly: "To me, this is a confirmation that even the Biden administration has come to realize that this is a man-made crisis at our border and that man's name is Joe Biden. We've got to get back what was working during our administration."
Pence also criticized the news that only about 20 miles of wall will be added.
"It feels like a fig leaf," he said. "What they announced is tantamount to an admission that Joe Biden was wrong from day one when he shut down construction of that wall."
Pence also criticized the votes from eight House Republicans to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the speaker's seat.
"I was deeply disappointed to see Congressman [Matt] Gaetz and seven other members of Congress partner with every single Democrat in the House of Representatives to fire the Republican Speaker of the House," said Pence, calling the eight Republicans the "Chaos Caucus."
"I am wishing well to all of my former colleagues, so many of my friends in the House, as they go through the process of choosing a new speaker," he said. "I honestly believe that they also have to amend the conference rules and require a higher threshold so that you can't see a small number of members move to essentially hold the Speaker of the House hostage as he's moving forward."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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