Klobuchar: Biden Did Policy That Worked — He Should Act on Border But Couldn’t Before Because He Needs Congress

On Tuesday’s broadcast of “CNN This Morning,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) stated that President Joe Biden should take executive action on the border, but didn’t do so earlier because he needs Congress and said that “They did try something this last summer that was working, but then got thrown out in court.”

Host Kasie Hunt asked, “So we’re learning that President Biden is going to go to the border this week, really underscoring the political challenges around that issue for him. Are you glad to see that he’s making that trip, and do you think that he should put an executive order in place to try to change some of these policies in the absence of congressional action?”

Klobuchar responded, “Well, it’s a good thing he’s going to the border, and it is good that he’s looking at any alternatives, because you don’t need chaos at the border right now. … Biden actually is looking at solutions, tried to get a bill passed through Congress, pushed back by Republicans, now looking at doing it himself.”

Hunt then asked, “So, critics are going to look at what the President may be planning to do with this executive order and say, well, okay, why didn’t he do this three years ago? Why didn’t he do it?”

Klobuchar answered, “Well, let me quote Donald Trump…back in 2018, he said, and so you have to go through Congress. You want to have an ironclad provision that isn’t going to be thrown out in court, you go through Congress. And that’s exactly what we did with that agreement that got thrown out.”

Hunt followed up, “So, again, you think that even though the President should be going through Congress, you still want him to take this action?”

Klobuchar responded, “I think he should do whatever he can within the legal framework. They did try something this last summer that was working, but then got thrown out in court. The truth is, the people have got to stop all of this playing games at the border. They have to stop it and actually do something and get results.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett