A key official working on President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is disagreeing with him on policies related to the southern border crisis, Politico reported.

Congressional Progressive Caucus leader and Democratic Texas Rep. Veronica Escobar is the co-chair of Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign, and she went vocal this week about her disagreement with Biden’s support for a congressional border security deal, according to Politico. Biden recently promised to “shut down” the border should a border security deal currently being negotiated pass through Congress.

“I was not happy,” Escobar told Politico on Biden’s pledge to shut down the border. “And that’s absolutely not language or terminology that I would use – not today, not ever. … I am a huge supporter of the president’s. … Does that mean I agree with him on everything? I don’t.”

Escobar opined that she wished the Democratic party and Biden had worked on immigration reform policies earlier on and called the lack of action on the issue a “strategic mistake,” according to Politico. She also expressed concerns with the current border bill that Republicans and Democrats have been negotiating since December.

“I have yet to see what’s in the Senate bill, but there are certain red lines for me,” Escobar told Politico. “And here’s an example of a red line – if there are ‘rapid expulsion’ policies in there. I live on the border. I have daily communication with the border patrol. I talk to our shelter operators, our local government leaders. … And something that has consistently not worked is rapid expulsion.”

“The political environment is rapidly shifting. And I now hear many Democrats using similar terms that Republicans have used to describe immigration, about ‘closing the border’ – and that includes the president,” Escobar said.

Jake Smith on February 2, 2024

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