The escalating border crisis overseen by President Joe Biden's administration is causing problems among top advisers as they seek solutions, according to an Axios report.

The U.S.-Mexico border is congested as lawmakers continue to debate a Senate bill that could provide funding for Ukraine, Israel and other border security efforts. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered more than 300,000 migrants in December 2023, the highest month on record. As pressure mounts, government officials are passing blame onto each other, and some are even ignoring such responsibilities, officials said. Said Axios.

Sources told Axios that during a meeting on the border crisis in January 2023, Biden spoke with then-Chief of Staff Jen O'Malley Dillon and Homeland Security Adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall. He reportedly became furious in front of his senior advisors, including Mr. Officials told Axios that the president's outburst occurred because his staff did not have “vague immigration data points.”

White House press secretary Andrew Bates disputed Axios' characterization.

“Multiple direct participants in the meeting dispute this tone and explanation of the results,” Bates said. The meeting discussed “the details of this complex issue.”

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has historically not worked on border issues, but the top adviser has left his portfolio to Sherwood Randall, who has little experience on the issue, people familiar with the matter told Axios. told.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who Biden tasked with solving the root causes of the migrant crisis across Central America in 2021, said her role would begin and end in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. , a person familiar with the meeting told Axios. As the immigration crisis becomes a global issue, Harris is reportedly avoiding taking on additional responsibility.

“She was incompetent at best and sporadically involved at worst, but she never considered it her responsibility,” a former Biden administration official told Axios. “This was her chance, but she couldn't bridge her gap.”

White House Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice meets with U.S. President Joe Biden, Cabinet members, and immigration advisers at the State Diner on March 24, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

There is tension between domestic policy adviser Susan Rice, Sherwood Randall and Harris, a person familiar with the matter told Axios. The tension between Rice and Harris stems from her 2020 bid for the White House, Axios reported. Rice reportedly takes pride in being more up to date on the border crisis than the vice president.

In comments to Axios, a spokeswoman for Rice denied there was any strain in the relationship between the two leaders.

Rice and other officials told Axios that they harbor deep animosity toward Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra because of his failure to secure more space in child migrant shelters. Told. Rice reportedly previously called Becerra a “slut” and privately called Becerra an “idiot.”

According to Axios, Rice leaked a memo to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas during the meeting in which Biden became angry with Becerra. The note said, “Please do not save him.”