Lawmakers Optimistic on Border, Ukraine Deal After ‘Productive’ White House Meeting

Congressional leaders appeared optimistic on Jan. 17 that a deal could be reached on supplemental funding for Ukraine and border security after meeting with President Joe Biden.

“It was a very good meeting and a very positive meeting,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters as he emerged from the White House.

Praising the bipartisan efforts on both sides, Mr. Schumer added that he was “more optimistic than ever before” that an agreement could be reached soon as the deadline for funding the government approaches.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was also positive about the progress that had been made, describing the meeting as “productive.”

“The president was very forthright,” he said. “I told the president what I’ve been saying for many months, and that is that we must have change at the border—substantive policy change.”

The president has asked Congress to authorize $110 billion in supplemental funding, with the vast majority designated as aid for Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia. The remaining funds would be split between Israel, the Indo-Pacific, and border security. But the package does not include any significant immigration policy reforms—a sticking point for Republicans.

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“We documented 64 instances where the president took executive action or his agencies took action to create the current catastrophe that we have at the border,” the speaker said. “It’s a national security and a humanitarian catastrophe, and I articulated that to the president in the meeting.”

Republicans say that a restoration of the Trump-era Remain in Mexico policy, an end to “catch-and-release” enforcement tactics, and asylum and parole reforms would go a long way toward fixing the issue. The Biden administration has thus far resisted making those adjustments.

Still, Mr. Johnson he conceded that he believed additional assistance for Ukraine was “a necessity.”

“The status quo is unacceptable. We need the commander in chief of this country, the president of the United States, to show strength on the world stage and not weakness. We cannot continue with the current status quo,” he said.

Unanswered Questions

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby noted at a Jan. 16 White House press briefing that the last Ukraine assistance package was authorized on Dec. 27.

“That was the last one for which we had replenishment authority, and there’s not another one in the works right now,” he said.

“That is why it’s so, so important for us to get this national security supplemental funding for Ukraine, so that we can keep that aid going, as it’s clear that the Russians continue to want to strike civilian infrastructure and continue to carry on the war inside Ukraine.”

Ahead of his meeting with the president—which also included Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.)—Mr. Johnson said “critical questions” needed to be answered before he could sign off on additional aid for Ukraine.

“What is the endgame and the strategy in Ukraine? How will we have accountability for the funds? We need to know that Ukraine would not be another Afghanistan,” he told reporters at a press conference.

But when he later left the White House, he revealed that those questions remained unanswered. He also stressed that the border must be the top priority for negotiations to progress.

“I think we have some consensus around that table. Everyone understands the urgency of that, and we’re going to continue to press for it.”

‘Leaked’ Deal

Mr. Johnson had expressed earlier in the day that he did not think it was the right time to push for “comprehensive” immigration reform “because we know how complicated that is.”

“You can’t do that quickly. I do think it’s past time to secure the border, and that’s what H.R. 2 reflects,” the speaker added, referencing the “Secure the Border Act” that the House passed last year.

H.R. 2 was dead-on-arrival in the Democrat-controlled Senate, though negotiations have been underway in that chamber to produce an alternative.

The leaked draft allegedly included provisions like increasing the number of green cards issued per year by 50,000 and allowing the release of 5,000 illegal immigrants per day into the United States.

Mr. Johnson made clear his opinion of those provisions with a blunt, “Absolutely not.”

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), the lead GOP negotiator, also responded to the claims made in the leak by calling them “a lie.”

“I encourage people to read the border security bill before they judge the border security bill,” he added. “I also advise people not to believe everything you read on the internet.”