Payam Javan: A Senate border bill, which already failed in a February vote, is losing support from both parties ahead of another vote scheduled for May 23. The legislation needs 60 votes to pass but failed previously with a 49-50 vote. Key Republican negotiators, including Sens. James Lankford, Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski, are unlikely to support the bill again. Lankford accused Democrats of turning the bipartisan effort into a partisan issue, and Romney criticized it as a political game by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Several Democrats also oppose the bill due to its lack of protections for “Dreamers” and its tightened asylum conditions. Senators Bob Menendez, Alex Padilla, Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey, Bernie Sanders, and Cory Booker are among the opposition. Sen. John Fetterman, despite previously supporting the bill, now sees the effort as largely symbolic.

As the Senate prepares for the vote, both parties are engaged in a PR battle. Republicans argue that the bill’s provisions could worsen the border situation, while Democrats claim it would help reduce fentanyl trafficking. The debate continues with both sides accusing each other of politicizing the issue. The bill appears headed for another defeat.