Sen. John Kennedy: Border Bill Has Some Positives

Sen. John Kennedy conceded Wednesday there are some positives included in the pending border deal, but he's still not sure he'll vote for it.

"It's not $5.7 billion, but it is not the zero that House Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi said he was going to get, either," the Louisiana Republican told Fox News "America's Newsroom."

"With the money already on hand, it's about $2 billion; $1.375 billion in the bill and another $600 million he has, and that's over the next seven months."

He also said he believes the wall will be built quickly, disagreeing with Rep. Mark Meadows, who said earlier it could take 20 years to build the wall under current financing constraints.

"I think the American people support border security," Kennedy said. "Am I happy we had to compromise? No. Do I wish it was $5.7 billion? Yes. But it is not zero, either, like Speaker Pelosi wanted. I want to see the details. You have to watch what people do, not what they say around here."

Kennedy said he also wants to know where the money will come from to pay for the wall funding, as "we're spending taxpayer dollars here, not ditch water, and we have to borrow every penny that we spend."

He said he does believe Republican conferees working on the measure "did a pretty decent job, under the circumstances."

The measure will also increase the number of detention beds after Democrats initially wanted to decrease them, said Kennedy.

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