Speaker Rejects Possible Biden Border Actions as ‘Gimmicks’

US House Speaker Mike Johnson rejected new border policy restrictions the Biden administration is considering as inadequate “election year gimmicks,” signaling Republicans will continue to block Ukraine aid even if the president takes the steps.

President Joe Biden is weighing unilateral executive action to block asylum claims by migrants who cross the border outside official ports of entry, according to people familiar with matter. The measures, invoking authority Donald Trump used while president, are legally disputed but conservatives have been calling on Biden to employ them.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson

Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg

Johnson said in a statement Thursday the measures “don’t actually secure the border” ...