Wisconsin Republican Eric Hovde trashes bipartisan border bill

Republican Eric Hovde, a likely candidate for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin, bashed a bipartisan deal to increase border security on Tuesday.

Senators unveiled a package on Feb. 4 pairing increased border enforcement with military aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. At a campaign event for congressional candidate Erik Olsen, Hovde said the bill was “rotten” and “crazy.”

“This is, as I said, an unmitigated human tragedy that needs to end, period,” Hovde said in reference to fentanyl and other drugs coming across the southern border. “It needs to end immediately and it can’t be some crazy ass bill that a couple Republican senators that are trying to get a big pay package for Ukraine and elsewhere, to wrap it in an immigration bill and act like they’re doing something.”

Hovde praised Fox News host Jesse Watters’ coverage of the border bill and called it a “rotten piece of legislation.”

Republican lawmakers have been saying for months that they won’t approve military aid for Ukraine or other U.S. allies without tightened border controls. The resulting legislation, which was brokered by Democratic and Republican senators, would have provided $6.8 billion for Customs and Border Protection, $7.6 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and $3.99 billion for Citizenship and Immigration Services. 

The bill also included the FEND Off Fentanyl Act which had provisions to crackdown on international fentanyl trafficking. The FEND Off Fentanyl Act was co-sponsored by Hovde’s likely opponent Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).

The border security package was endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Despite this, Republican senators blocked the bill from advancing on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for Hovde did not immediately respond to a request to comment for this story.