GOP should cancel August recess to focus on border and budget issues

If Republicans truly believe we are living through unprecedented, dire times, they should use their current power to demonstrate it. Canceling the August recess and building the case for a budget fight in September over the border would show the American people how Republicans would govern if they win the election. Instead of going on taxpayer-funded overseas trips, Republicans should use August to seize the spotlight and create a month-long closing argument for their budget bill to prevail by 11:59 p.m. on September 30, when the fiscal year ends.

The political imperative

The reality is that the positive polling for Trump over the past several months was an optical illusion, built upon Joe Biden’s uniquely unprecedented weakness. Even with Biden at the top of the ticket, most polls showed Democrats overperforming in Senate races, and many had Democrats leading in the generic ballot question. Now that Biden has been sidelined, Republicans must consider the possibility that they are facing the same political environment that has fueled a Democrat winning streak in swing states since 2017, despite the general malaise, terrible economy, and national security challenges.

What if Republicans had a rallying cry heading into September: 'No border? No budget!'

With Republicans on vacation all summer, Kamala Harris will command fawning headlines with the freshness of her candidacy, the intrigue behind her selection of a running mate (likely from a swing state), and the Democratic National Convention in Chicago at the end of August. Given that Republicans already had their convention and enjoyed one of the best three-week news cycles of all time, you’d expect them to be crushing the Democrats, especially since Harris should be forced to own all the failures of this administration.

Yet that won’t be the case.

Most polls have shown the race as a dead heat even after the Republican convention, with Democrats leading in most key down-ballot races. This may be a honeymoon period for Harris, reflecting a temporary media-cycle boost. However, Republicans must consider the possibility that the national environment is reverting to the trend seen since 2017. Over the past six years, Democrats have won almost every critical race in Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, overperformed in almost every special election, and defied 200 years of history by winning the midterms, despite negative public sentiment about their policies and the direction of the country.

Clearly, there is a political imperative and a responsibility to Americans to focus the next 100 days on policies, not the soap opera politics that have disfavored Republicans in recent years.

If there is one issue that burdens Harris, it is the border. The media has frenetically tried to erase her history as Biden's appointed border czar. Polls show that immigration is the biggest vulnerability for Democrats. The budget bill in September, right before early voting, is the final opportunity to highlight this issue for voters. The House of Representatives, controlled by Republicans, must command attention and maintain a sustained focus on this critical issue. It’s time to use it or lose it.

Trump should call upon Speaker Johnson to reconvene at least a week before the Democratic National Convention. Three weeks of vacation is enough and much more than what most Americans take in the summer. Every day, lawmakers should hold hearings, press conferences, and votes on various aspects of illegal immigration that harm Americans. The RNC should showcase the excellent videos featuring victims of illegal immigration and fentanyl every day during the DNC. Unfortunately, there is an endless supply of American victims to choose from.

We now have known terrorists crossing the border and being released by the Biden-Harris administration. Tens of thousands of Chinese nationals are coming over in droves. We face endless Venezuelan gangsters and Central American child rapists. Communities suffer from drugs, crime, and the cultural destruction of public school districts overwhelmed by these invaders. It’s sad but true that there are victims every day. Ted Cruz’s “every damn day” refrain at the GOP convention should serve as the blueprint for messaging during a special session on the border.

Now is the time

Republicans will never find a more important campaign issue coinciding with such crucial timing. Sitting out this entire six-week period and employing a run-the-clock-out strategy when they are likely behind is political malfeasance. It is evident from the past few years that Republicans have done an awful job elevating the issues to national prominence. A recent Angus Reid poll showed Harris leading by two points, but Trump is favored on every major issue. Voters support “mass deportations” by a margin of 13 points, and they believe Trump would handle crime, the economy, and foreign policy better than Harris.

So what gives? It’s clear that Republicans have allowed themselves to be defined by personal politics, rather than the critical issues.

Imagine if Republicans held a marathon session, supported by all their campaign apparatuses, centering their messaging around defunding the Democrats’ catch-and-release policy for criminal aliens at the border. They could refuse to fund the host of DHS programs used to fly in unvetted illegal aliens on the taxpayers’ dime to circumvent our asylum laws. This includes the 550,000 illegal immigrant spouses of legal residents Biden amnestied, as well as the 860,000 granted “temporary protected status.” What if they had a rallying cry heading into September: “No border? No budget!”

As conservatives, we slept through the primaries and ignored the GOP's and Trump’s leftward shift under the imperative to unite and win the general election. So now that the general election is upon us and Democrats are flush with cash, ground game, and momentum, do we actually want to do what it takes to win?