John Fetterman's Blunt Message to Republicans and Donald Trump

Democratic Senator John Fetterman delivered a blunt message to GOP lawmakers opposing a $118 billion Senate bill that would address U.S.-Mexico border security and aid for U.S. allies.

Conservatives in both the House and Senate are rejecting the deal brokered by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, arguing that it does not go far enough to secure the southern border amid the surge in migrant arrivals. Several Republican senators have voiced opposition to the bill, raising questions about whether it has the votes needed to pass.

Fetterman called out Republicans opposing the bill and former President Donald Trump, who is also against the legislation.

"It's time for the GOP to get their balls out of Trump's desk and vote for what you've just been yelling for for the last months, and we need to stand with all of it," the Pennsylvania Democrat told Newsweek Tuesday.

He continued: "We need to stand with all of it. Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan. We have border security. Here it is right there—vote."

Newsweek contacted the office of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the chamber, for comment via email.

The Senate's bipartisan border bill would address key concerns about the border. It increases the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's detention capacity from 34,000 to 50,000 and allocates $20 billion to immigration enforcement. It also includes $14 billion in aid to Israel, $60 billion for Ukraine, $4.83 billion to Indo-Pacific nations and $10 billion in humanitarian funding for Ukraine, Gaza and the West Bank.

But conservatives have said the bill should contain more stringent measures that would prevent illegal immigration into the U.S., a sentiment echoed by Trump. On Monday, he warned that the bill is a "great gift to the Democrats, and a Death Wish for The Republican Party" in a post on Truth Social.

Critics have accused Republican lawmakers of refusing to vote for the bill to prevent President Joe Biden from scoring a political victory on border security, which has become a major controversy for his administration ahead of November's election. Trump previously said Republicans should not accept anything less than a "perfect" border bill to deal with the huge influx of migrants.

There were more than 2.4 million encounters at the border during the 2023 fiscal year, up from roughly 1.7 million in 2021, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

Fetterman's comments on immigration have drawn the ire of some progressives who supported his 2022 Senate campaign. He has voiced support for stronger Border Patrol measures, breaking from some activists in the Democratic Party.

Last month, he told the New York Post, "We have a crisis at our border, and it can't be controversial that we should have a secure border."