The Senate border deal collapsed almost as soon as it came out because it’s a complex, partisan and emotional issue, and Donald Trump doesn’t want Joe Biden to get credit for making progress on it. But there’s another reason every bipartisan immigration plan fails spectacularly: At the end of the day, a lot of lawmakers would rather somebody else deal with it.
Passing an immigration bill would require members of the House and Senate to take extremely difficult votes, and they’d have to live with — and take responsibility for — the results. Isn’t it easier just to punt it to the White House and blame the president for whatever comes next?
“There are a good number of people who prefer to not have to cast a tough vote,” said Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, who didn’t support the border deal but praised negotiators for working on it. “They don’t want to explain a tough vote, which is why no is the default. Because noes are always easy to explain: ‘It wasn’t good enough.’”