Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer will hold a vote as early as next week on President Biden’s emergency spending request for the wars in Israel and Ukraine.
But the $106 billion aid package will not muster enough Republican support to clear the Senate’s 60-vote hurdle for legislation to survive — much less pass the GOP-controlled House if it gets there.
Still, Mr. Schumer said he is prepared to force senators to go on the record unless ongoing bipartisan negotiations with Republicans over tougher southern border policies soon produce a breakthrough.
“The biggest holdup to the national security supplement is an insistence by some Republicans — just some — on partisan border policy as a condition on Ukraine aid,” Mr. Schumer, New York Democrat, said Monday on the Senate floor. “This injected a decades-old, hyperpartisan issue into overwhelmingly bipartisan priorities.”
The $106 billion bill also includes money for Taiwan, humanitarian assistance for Gaza and to accommodate migrants crossing the U.S. border illegally.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, said he agrees the issues should be tackled together but cracking down on the influx of illegal immigrants is a necessity to win GOP votes.
“We don’t have the luxury of addressing glaring threats to our national security one at a time,” Mr. McConnell said. “Apparently, [Senate Democrats] are considering putting support for Israel on the chopping block unless we promise not to fix the border crisis they helped create.”
The House has passed a standalone $14.3 billion aid bill for Israel, but Mr. Schumer has refused to let the Senate vote on it.
House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed greater optimism for reaching a bipartisan deal. The Louisiana Republican, speaking at an event in Florida, said he was “confident and optimistic” Congress will pass legislation before lawmakers skip town for the holidays in mid-December.
“I think all of that will come together in the coming days,” Mr. Johnson said.
Hopes for an agreement in the Senate waned in recent weeks due to an impasse over border security. Senate Republicans and Democrats continued talks over the Thanksgiving recess but couldn’t strike a compromise.
Mr. Biden’s proposal would provide money for processing migrants who cross into the U.S. illegally, but Republicans say major policy changes are needed to curb the record surge.
Mr. Schumer needs at least nine Republicans to pass any package.
“On this side of the aisle, we also recognize that national security begins here at home,” Mr. McConnell said. “Last month’s total southern border encounters marked the busiest October in decades of CBP records, and the harsh reality of the Biden administration’s border crisis continues to impact millions of Americans in cities across the country.”
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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