JD Vance Calls for Showdown With Biden Over Border Wall (Newsmax)
By Jeffrey Rodack | Friday, 21 October 2022 08:45 AM EDT
Ohio GOP Senate-nominee J.D. Vance says if Republicans gain full control of Congress in the midterms, they should pull money to build the border wall from the Biden administration as a condition for funding parts of the government, according to Politico.
"Republicans, we need to have a fight over the border wall," he told supporters in Middletown. "And we need to be willing to say to Joe Biden: 'You don't get another dime for your priorities unless you do your job and enforce and secure the southern border.'"
Vance said funding for the wall is one of his top priorities, along with stopping inflation and increasing domestic energy production, if he defeats Rep. Tim Ryan in November, Politico reported.
He said he would push for $3 billion for the wall.
"We have to be willing to use the leverage that we will have with congressional majorities to actually force Joe Biden to do some of the core functions of the federal government," Vance said. "One of the things we have to be willing to do as Republicans is force the conversation on border security. It's killing way too many people."
But Izzi Levy, a spokesperson for Ryan, fired back, saying: "If J.D. Vance cares so much about immigration, why didn't he use his 'leverage' as an investor to stop the dozens of companies he invested in that tried to hire foreign workers?"
Vance has said he's never pushed for any of those companies to use H1-B visas.
Meanwhile, Kari Lake, the Republican nominee in the Arizona governor's race told Newsmax on Thursday that she would issue a "declaration of invasion" on the southern border if she wins and finish former President Donald Trump's wall at the southern border.
During an appearance on "The Chris Salcedo Show," Lake said she agreed with incumbent Gov. Doug Ducey's rejection of Biden administration calls to remove shipping containers placed along weak border spots.
"When I'm governor, we're going to work to finish the construction of President Trump's wall using the abandoned federal property that we, the people, paid for with our tax money. But in the meantime, any barrier is better than no barrier."