Republicans slam Democrats for pushing vote on Puerto Rico statehood, tell left to focus on border

Republican lawmakers are talking about the priorities of their Democratic counterparts as the year, and the left-wing majority in the House, comes to a close.

House Democrats on Thursday approved a bill giving Puerto Rico the option of becoming an independent state or country, in a historic if largely symbolic move.

The legislation has a slim chance of passing in the Senate, where it would take at least 10 Republicans to pass it, and likely won’t be taken up in the new House of Representatives, where the GOP will be in charge.

A couple of House Republicans spoke to DailyMail.com about their frustrations with the long shots bill.

They urged their colleagues across the aisle to focus on more immediate issues like the looming crisis on the southern border with little time left for most.

Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana told DailyMail.com just after voting ‘no’ on Thursday: “I’ve supported Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican statehood before.”

“However, I am concerned about how this is written: it would allow, because of the way the vote would be conducted, allow Puerto Rico to become independent,” Banks explained.

“And then the liability of American taxpayers if that happened.”

He added that there was “so much more” that the Democratic majority should focus on.

Republican Reps. Jim Banks (left) and Byron Donalds (right) shared concerns about the Democrats’ Puerto Rico bill and urged the majority left to focus on more immediate issues, such as the border crisis.

“Most importantly, the crisis at the border and the repeal of Title 42,” he said.

Banks called the growing number of migrants trying to cross the border “the largest humanitarian crisis in the history of the United States, which [Democrats’] the policies are directly responsible, and have continued to completely ignore it and act as if it weren’t happening.’

But he said it was a “reminder” of why American voters chose Republicans to take over the House of Representatives next year, to “do something about it.”

Meanwhile, Florida Representative Byron Donalds was concerned about how quickly the bill was crafted.

‘First of all, have we even deliberated on Puerto Rican statehood here? No,’ Donalds said just before entering the House chamber to vote.

“Once again, Speaker Pelosi throws things on the floor at the last minute.”

He added: ‘There has been no deliberation… I just think it’s the wrong way. Why are we doing this at the 11th hour of Congress 117?’

House Democrats are highly unlikely to introduce legislation addressing the border crisis before Title 42 expires next week.

The end of the COVID pandemic era politics is expected to bring a surge of migrants to the southern border

The banks called the growing number of migrants trying to cross the border the “biggest humanitarian crisis in American history.”

When asked what Democrats should focus on, Donalds said: “Securing the border.”

A surge of asylum seekers and other undocumented immigrants has overwhelmed border communities like El Paso, Texas. It comes less than a week before the court-ordered end of the Trump-era Title 42 removal policy.

The health rule, enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, allows border agents to turn away people in case of contact in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

A federal judge ordered the Biden administration to end it at midnight on December 21.

Earlier this week, Axios reported that the Department of Homeland Security is preparing for up to 14,000 people to cross the border per day after Title 42 is lifted.