Republicans, Several Democrats Condemn Harris as Biden’s ‘Border Tsar’ as GOP Pushes To Define Her in Campaign

House Republicans on Thursday voted to condemn Vice President Harris for her alleged role as the “border tsar,” their latest attempt to define Ms. Harris as she launches her presidential campaign. Six Democrats joined Republicans in the vote.

Early in President Biden’s term, he tasked Ms. Harris with addressing the “root causes” of migration from Central America and negotiating with Mexico and the Northern Triangle to help stem migration from the region across the southern border. The term “border tsar” spread widely in the press at the time. 

The condemnation also comes as crossings at the southern border reach a three-year low, although not close to the lows of the administration of President Trump, and months after Republicans killed a border security bill at the behest of Mr. Trump. At the time, Senator Mike Lee asserted that the bill “does nothing to seriously secure the border — just cements outrageous levels of illegal immigration.”

Thursday’s House vote was the latest effort by Republicans and several Democrats to tie Ms. Harris to the border, an issue the GOP sees as favorable.

“No matter what congressional district you go to, the number one issue facing Americans is Kamala Harris’ open border crisis,” Ms. Stefanik said.

House Democrats pushed back on the label of “border tsar,” with Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader, saying, “The vice president was not a border tsar.”

“They are making that up because they have no affirmative agenda, vision, or track record for the American people,” Mr. Jeffries said.

The resolution comes as Republicans are attacking  Ms. Harris with a barrage of advertising. Republicans have spent more than $68 million on television and radio advertising, compared to $2.6 million for Democrats, as Ms. Harris organizes her nascent campaign. 

Earlier this week House Republicans held a closed-door meeting during which leadership warned GOP members against making comments about Ms. Harris’s race. Instead, House leadership said that Republicans should focus their criticisms on Ms. Harris’s record as an elected official.

“This has nothing to do with race. It has to do with the competence of the person running for president, the relative strength of the two candidates and what ideas they have on how to solve America’s problems,” Speaker Johnson told Politico. “And I think in that comparison, we’ll win in a landslide.”