Fifty members opposed advancing the bill, while only 43 members supported moving forward with the legislation, which Democrats revived this month. One of the members who spent months helping to craft the bill, Senator James Lankford (R-OK), criticized the way the leadership handled the revival of the legislation.

“I’m making it very clear with my vote that this is a stunt — not an attempt to do anything,” Lankford told Newsmax. “And I’m going to be interested in how many Democrats walk away from this.”

Retiring Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a former Democrat-turned-Independent who still caucuses with her old party, criticized them and Republicans alike, accusing them of engaging in “political theater” rather than seriously addressing President Joe Biden’s lax immigration and border security policies.

House Republicans warned that the bill would be “dead on arrival” if it reached them and urged the Senate to pass H.R. 2 instead. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has refused to consider this more stringent border security bill, which the House passed last year.