'It's true': Sen. Lankford nods as Biden rehashed immigration bill in State of the Union

Earlier this year, U.S. Sen. James Lankford faced backlash from his own political party as he led negotiations on a bipartisan immigration package — a point President Joe Biden rehashed in his Thursday State of the Union address.

On Thursday, Biden boasted his administration's work with senators to create a bipartisan immigration bill, which he described as having "the toughest set of border security reforms" the U.S. has ever seen.

The reference to the bill prompted boos from the politicians in the crowd.

"You don't think so? You don't like that bill, huh?" Biden said amid the boos. "That conservatives got together and said it was a good bill? I'll be darned. That's amazing."

The bill would've hired 1,500 more security agents and officers and 100 more immigration judges to help tackle the backload of 2 million cases, Biden said, along with 4,300 more asylum officers and new policy so they can resolve cases in six months instead of six years.

After Biden explained what the bill would've done, politicians in the audience cheered with a standing ovation.

Lankford nodded after Biden's explanation and mouthed, "It's true."

James Lankford faced dilemma amid immigration negotiations, censure from Oklahoma Republicans

While Lankford and other senators negotiated the bipartisan bill, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, acknowledged privately to other Republican senators recently that former U.S. President Donald Trump's opposition to the bipartisan deal being brokered puts the party in a dilemma.

The demise of a bipartisan border deal denied Biden the chance to claim a victory in addressing surging migration at the southern border — a topic that Republicans have hammered Biden over throughout his presidency. It would also let Trump continue his political attacks on border policies and immigration.

Amid negotiations, some members of the Oklahoma Republican Party met to censure Lankford over his work with Democrats to pass bipartisan legislation. The chair of the state party, Nathan Dahm, later blasted the meeting as illegal and said the censure was not an official position of the Oklahoma GOP.

After the U.S. Senate voted to kill the bill in February, Lankford said he was disappointed, according to The Associated Press, adding that the border issue isn't solved.

How did legislators react to Biden on social media?

In a video posted on social media, Lankford called Biden's State of the Union address a "campaign speech." Lankford referenced Biden's multiple hits on Trump, whom he only referred to as his "predecessor."

U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin called Biden's speech "hyper-partisan" on social media, saying it was out of touch with Americans.

On X, Ryan Walters, state schools superintendent, summed up his thoughts through a GIF, which read, "Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: State of the Union: Lankford reacts to Biden on immigration bill