Will the Hill buy Mayorkas' border plan?

[brooklynite]

Punchbowl

We reported in our PM edition last night that Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn’t happy with the Biden administration’s handling of Title 42, the pandemic era policy that limited immigration through the U.S.-Mexico border.

House Democratic leaders worry that if reinstating Title 42 came up for a vote as part of a Ukraine aid package, Democrats wouldn’t have the votes to defeat it. Several top House Democrats vented about the administration’s handling of Title 42 during last night’s closed-door leadership meeting.

This, of course, would be a huge embarrassment for the Biden administration. The CDC has decision-making authority on invoking Title 42, but the White House pays the political price for this situation.

With a growing number of House and Senate Democrats breaking with the White House – and pressure from the Hill growing over an expected migrant surge at the border when Title 42 is lifted on May 23 – Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is formally unveiling a new plan for dealing with the southwest border.

The full memo outlining Mayorkas’ new plan is here. You should read it. Mayorkas is testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee today and the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra will be in front of House Energy and Commerce today as well, and expect him to have to answer lots of questions on this topic too.