The Washington Examiner’s Byron York contended that several lawmakers had reason to not show up at President Joe Biden’s announcement of using executive action in an effort to address the border crisis.
On Tuesday, Biden issued an executive order banning immigrants from seeking asylum at the southern border. Democratic lawmakers considered to be vulnerable ahead of their elections, including Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT), Bob Casey (D-PA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), were absent from Biden’s announcement.
“They want to get reelected. I mean, they are the most vulnerable senators in the U.S. Senate,” York told the Ingraham Angle. “A lot of people actually skipped this because it just highlights everything that Biden has done wrong about the border.”
“And the fact that it was his doing,” York added. “You can’t blame Trump. You can’t blame somebody back in history. It was Joe Biden’s doing.”
Biden’s current overall job approval rating is 40.3%, according to RealClearPolitics polling.
York suggested Biden’s low polling, which is not limited to voters’ concerns regarding the border and economy, is cause for these senators to distance themselves from the president.
“You have to remember that the 40%,” York added, “includes things he does well on, like healthcare or abortion. I mean, he is way, way underwater.”
While issuing his executive action, Biden blamed Republicans who refused to pass a Senate border bill, arguing that they “left him no choice” but to use his executive authorities to address border security.
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“Migrants will be restricted from receiving asylum at our southern border unless they seek it after entering through an established lawful process,” Biden said about the executive order. “If an individual chooses not to use our legal pathways — they choose to come without permission and against the law — they will be restricted from receiving asylum and staying in the United States.”
Biden was surrounded by Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Govs. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) and Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM), seven House Democrats, and local elected officials.