Kellyanne Conway Warns Joe Biden He Has a John Fetterman Problem

Kellyanne Conway has warned President Joe Biden that he's facing a problem with Democrats like Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman who have spoken out about migration at the southern border.

Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat has recently become more outspoken about issues like the United States-Mexico border and the war in Gaza, saying he's no longer a progressive but "just a regular Democrat." Fetterman previously called himself a progressive and backed Senator Bernie Sanders as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee in 2016.

The senator has sounded an alarm on the situation down south, exacerbated by a monthly record of 300,000 migrants being processed in December, according to data released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

In an interview on Fox News' America's Newsroom on Wednesday, Conway, a former White House adviser in the Trump administration, discussed a variety of issues voters have in mind such as abortion and the increase of migrants crossing the United States- Mexico border.

Conway warned that Biden may have "growing headaches" with Democrats like Fetterman and Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs in relation to the border as Fetterman has deemed it a "crisis," a term Biden has previously said he does not agree with.

"I think there is growing headaches for Joe Biden from people like Senator John Fetterman calling the border a crisis, Katie Hobbs, the female Democratic governor of Arizona saying 'do something,' that's going to snowball. And let's be fair, you gave the advice to Donald Trump that he needs to go to the border and that's smart. Joe Biden needs to get there. [Secretary of Homeland Security] Alejandro Mayorkas needs to call this a crisis the way most Americans do," Conway said.

Newsweek reached out to Biden, Fetterman and Hobbs via email for comment.

Biden continues to face bipartisan criticism over his handling of the border as the U.S. experiences a high number of migrant border crossings. There were more than 2.4 million encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border during the 2023 fiscal year, up from roughly 1.7 million in 2021, according to CBP data.

Earlier this month, Biden was asked by reporters at the White House if he would call the situation at the southern border a "crisis," to which he responded: "No, but I wish they would react. I've been pushing them—my Republican colleagues— since I got into office. I think we have to make major changes at the border. I've been pushing it. I'm prepared to make significant alterations at the border."

Republicans attribute the uptick in migrant arrivals as a direct result of Biden's border policies, which they say incentivize illegal immigration. Other experts, however, say factors including political and financial instability in some Central American countries drive migration to the U.S.

Many of these migrants have been bused from Texas to Democratic-controlled "sanctuary cities," which protect undocumented immigrants from deportation, sparking a new wave of Democratic criticism as Biden seeks to quell concerns about immigration ahead of the 2024 election.

Hobbs, first elected in 2022, is another Democrat who raised concerns about the U.S.-Mexico border. In December, the Arizona governor knocked the Biden administration for not adequately delivering resources to the border as she signed an executive order that sent members of the National Guard to assist law enforcement there.

"We can't stand alone," Hobbs said. "Arizona needs resources and manpower to reopen the Lukeville crossing, manage the flow of migrants, and maintain a secure, orderly and humane border. Despite continued requests for assistance, the Biden administration has refused to deliver desperately needed resources to Arizona's border."

Update 1/24/24, 12 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and to reflect that Newsweek reached out to Joe Biden, John Fetterman and Katie Hobbs for comment.