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Several congressional Democrats are turning on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and have voiced their support for a border wall.
As noted by The Daily Caller, there’s a noticeable trend that more and more Democrats are coming out in support of a barrier on the southern border between the United States and Mexico.
Last Friday, President Donald Trump signed a continuing resolution to fund the government through February 15.
The deal did not include any upfront money for the border wall, but the president said he will declare a national emergency — which would allocate billions of dollars for the border wall — if Democrats do not agree to a deal in three weeks.
But in the past month, nearly a dozen Democrats have publicly said they support a physical barrier in concert with other border security measures, which will undoubtedly anger Pelosi.
Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Virginia, and 30 other Democrats sent a letter to Pelosi last week urging her to make a deal with Trump.
“He’s not talking about a wall from sea to shining sea,” Luria said. “That is not what we are talking about. We are talking about physical barriers as recommended by experts.
Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., told CNN on Monday, “We all pledged to work in good faith to find common ground on border security. That’s what I’m committed to doing, and I think that really starts with making sure we’re listening to the experts on the front lines on this, and that may include strategic fencing in certain places.”
Sen. Mark Warner, D-VA, told NPR on Tuesday that he supported physical barriers along the southern border.
“No, listen, I’ve said repeatedly that increased border security, even if some of that means a barrier, but it ought to be based upon the experts who know how to spend funds at the border — not some arbitrary number picked by the president,” Warner said.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said: “There are areas along the border where there are currently fences that are put up or barriers that are put up that need to be enhanced.”
Rep. Katherine Clark, D-MA, who also serves as the Vice Chair of the Democrat conference, said on MSNBC that the border would benefit from additional barriers.
“You know, I think there are parts of the border that would benefit from repairing fencing and other barricades that already exist there,” she said.
During an interview on CNN, Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-IL, who also serves as the chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said she has no issue with a border wall.
“If we have a partial wall, if we have fencing, if we have technology used to keep our border safe, all of that is fine,” Bustos said.
Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland echoed a similar tune while on CNN, voicing his support for a border barrier.
“Certainly you need barriers and we support barriers,” Cardin said.
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-CA, who is reportedly considering a 2020 presidential run, voiced his support for Trump’s wall.
“If we have a partial wall, if we have fencing, if we have technology used to keep our border safe, all of that is fine,” said Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, also told CNN that he would support a barrier along the U.S. border with Mexico.
“Some fencing is useful, some barriers are useful,” Merkley said. “There’s a lot of surveillance technology. I’ve been to some cities on the border that have triple fencing and have more personnel and have the technology to see the people moving in the middle of the night.”
Rep. John Garamendi, D-CA, admitted in late December that Democratssupport a barrier, including a fence.
“Democrats have repeatedly said that we will support border security, we will support all of its elements including fences,” Garamendi said.
Almost a dozen Democrats have gone public with their support for border barriers, which is exactly what Trump wants.
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