Mark Kelly slams JD Vance over blocked border bill

MARANA – Sen. Mark Kelly wants Sen. JD Vance to explain why former President Donald Trump torpedoed a bipartisan border security bill.

Vance, R-Ohio, is the GOP nominee for vice president and is campaigning for Trump in Peoria and Tucson on Tuesday.

Kelly, D-Ariz., began his own tour of Arizona on Tuesday campaigning for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.

Mark Kelly heads to the election campaign

Senator Mark Kelly pilots a chartered plane from Tucson to stops in Sierra Vista, Yuma, Tuba City, Flagstaff, Lake Havasu City and Casa Grande.

“I hope he (Vance) has an answer as to why Donald Trump gutted a bipartisan border security agreement that we worked on for months in the United States Senate,” Kelly told reporters before boarding a Columbia 400 plane from Marana Regional Airport.

Kelly criticized Trump for opposing the bill after the former president urged Republicans on the social media platform Truth Social to oppose it.

He called on Vance to explain why his vice president blocked the bipartisan bill and is now calling on Congress to pass similar legislation, such as hiring more border agents.

The 2024 border bill, originally signed in February by Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. introduced would have provided $118 billion in border funding and included provisions to hire 1,500 Customs and Border Protection officers and 1,600 asylum officers.

“If you are a border patrol agent here in Arizona, Donald Trump made you make less money. This affects you and your families,” Kelly said.

Kelly will fly between six cities Tuesday through Thursday, traveling 1,200 miles by car.

On Tuesday, the senator will visit communities along the Arizona-Mexico border, starting with an event in Sierra Vista focused on veterans and democracy. In the afternoon, he will travel to Yuma to encourage voters to submit early ballots as Election Day is just two weeks away from Nov. 5.

Kelly will continue his tour Wednesday morning and meet with tribal leaders in Tuba City. Later in the day, he will attend an event at Northern Arizona University and visit a Democratic field office in Flagstaff.

He will wrap up his tour Thursday with visits to Lake Havasu City and Casa Grande.

Do you have news or story ideas about the US-Mexico border in Arizona? Reach the reporter at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @raphaeldelag.

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