Former President Donald Trump has made it clear that he opposes the bipartisan border enforcement deal being hammered out in the Senate. His opposition has jeopardized the bills chances of passage in the House.

Many Republican Senate candidates with close ties to him have likewise come out against the proposed bill in some cases before the former president weighed in on Jan. 17.

These candidates condemnations of the bipartisan deal being negotiated by Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) expose them to attacks from Democrats eager to maintain the partys slim majority in the Senate. The tentative agreement includes major concessions from Democrats, including a provision requiring a complete shutdown of the U.S.-Mexico border when attempted crossings reach 5,000 a day.

Republican Senate candidates claim that the bill falls short largely because it includes provisions expediting some asylum-seekers ability to have their claims adjudicated and obtain work permits.

Democrats think theyre just trying to keep the issue alive to boost Trumps chances of victory in November.

Republican Senate candidates have made it clear they dont care about securing our border or keeping Americans safe, Tommy Garcia, a spokesperson for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said in a statement. These GOP candidates are practicing the worst kind of Washington politics, and in 2024 voters will hold them accountable for prioritizing their dangerous, ridiculous political agenda at the expense of our countrys security.

Republican Senate candidates in Ohio, Arizona, Montana, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Florida and Texas have all come out against Lankfords would-be agreement.

Bernie Moreno, a businessman and Trump-backed candidate for Senate in Ohio, told voters in Vermillion on Jan. 13 that the bill was an abomination. (Moreno had dropped out of Ohios Republican Senate primary in 2022 at Trumps behest; Trump backed the eventual winner, Sen. J.D. Vance .)

It is on a scale as ridiculous as Ive ever seen, he exclaimed in an audio clip obtained by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee .