11 months ago
There are “significant issues still under discussion” in Senate negotiations over linking new border restrictions to Ukraine aid, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told GOP senators on Sunday, warning a potential vote this week will fail if the sticking points aren't fully resolved.
There is a “lot of very technical work on drafting which takes time to get right,” McConnell wrote in a note to Republican senators, obtained by POLITICO and co-signed by Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), one of the negotiators. “Without text and sufficient time to review it, [a vote this week] would not succeed.”
Senate negotiators are working to reach an agreement on the border security measures demanded by House and Senate Republicans as a condition of passing President Joe Biden's $106 billion supplemental aid package that includes support for Ukraine and Israel. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer canceled at least a week of holiday recess for negotiations to continue, hoping a round of weekend talks could produce measures that would allow the supplemental to advance.
The missive from McConnell suggests Lankford and fellow negotiators Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) have a lot of work to do as they prepare for another round of meetings on Sunday. Schumer can quickly force another border vote this week and hopes to do so, but the internal message said “no firm decision has been made on having that vote.” Instead, McConnell wrote that "it looks like we are headed into votes on nominations this week."
Sinema, Lankford and Murphy are meeting daily with leadership aides and Biden administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. They cited progress after meetings on Saturday with hopes of producing an agreement sometime this week.
McConnell said he agreed with the negotiating trio that progress is being made, but the negotiations are challenging on their own and only more so due to the time crunch of trying to release some sort of deal before the holiday break. What’s more, the pressure is higher than usual because Ukraine is urgently asking the United States for more aid.
Negotiators are eager to release a framework, but there are several complex policy details to still sort through, according to two people familiar with the talks who were granted anonymity to discuss delicate negotiations.
Several senior Republican senators, including John Cornyn of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said on Sunday television shows that they doubted the closed-door talks could produce an outcome this year.
GOP senators blocked Biden's supplemental spending request earlier this month because it lacked border security policy changes. And those have been exceedingly difficult to agree on in a starkly divided Congress where immigration reform attempts fail regularly.
Negotiators have so far agreed on raising the standard under which immigrants can seek asylum by claiming a credible fear in their home country. Other issues still under discussion include an expedited removal process and new expulsion authorities.
Republicans also continue to push for policies that Democrats largely object to, including a transit ban, changes to class-based parole authority and triggers that would automate a border shutdown, adding another complicated layer to the talks.
English (US)