Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) the lead Republican negotiator on the failed bipartisan border deal said a “popular commentator” threatened to “destroy” him for trying to pass the legislation before the presidential election.
Moments before Senate Republicans sunk the bipartisan deal that included many of the policies they wanted, Lankford revealed that an unnamed right wing commentator had told him “if you try to move a bill that solves the border crisis during the presidential year, I will do whatever I can to destroy you. Because I do not want you to solve this during the presidential election.”
Following Lankford’s comments, MAGA radio host Jesse Kelly bragged that he was the one who threatened the senator.
“He may be a eunuch, but I’ll say this about James Lankford: He has great taste in radio. ???? Yes, in case you’re wondering, he’s talking about me,” Kelly proudly boasted on Twitter.
Several pro-Trump members of Congress and right wing media outlets rushed to attack the bill on Sunday after the 370-page legislation was released, knowingly spreading lies about the bill and even attacking Lankford calling for him to be arrested.
All this at the behest of Donald Trump who was reportedly urging his allies in Congress to sink the proposal weeks before its text was made public so he can run on the issue in November.
A procedural vote to advance the bipartisan border security deal and foreign aid package with aid for Ukraine and Israel failed on a 49-50 vote in the Senate on Wednesday. It needed at least 60 voted to move forward.
