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Senate Republicans want their party colleagues in the House to fall in line behind whatever southern border policies are produced from ongoing bipartisan negotiations in the upper chamber.
Top GOP senators say it’s a prime occasion to strike a deal with Democrats thanks to leverage over Ukraine funding and warn them not to let the opportunity pass as House Republicans suggest waiting until after the November election for a potential Republican president.
“If we had a 100% Republican government — president, House, Senate — we probably would not be able to get a single Democratic vote to pass what [Senate Republicans] and the administration are trying to get together,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican. “This is a unique opportunity to accomplish something in divided government that wouldn’t be there under a unified front.”
The prodding for pragmatism from Senate Republicans came ahead of a White House meeting with President Biden and top congressional leaders on the status of southern border talks and a $110 billion national security package to which lawmakers hope to attach any agreement. The package also includes money for Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine.
House Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, insist either that their immigration bill known as H.R. 2 with stronger expulsion authorities be attached or they hold off until former President Donald Trump potentially takes back the White House.
But with Democrats controlling the Senate and presidency, H.R. 2 is a nonstarter. Republican senators say punting the matter until next year would undercut their own calls to address a crisis at the southern border and weaken their leverage with Democrats.
Even if the GOP were to regain control of Washington, several Senate Democrats would still be needed to meet the chamber’s 60-vote filibuster threshold.
“We can’t in one moment say ‘it’s a crisis’ and the next moment say, ‘let’s wait a while,’” Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, the lead Republican negotiator, told The Washington Times. “When Trump was president, we weren’t able to get it done. We had a Republican House, Republican Senate and Republican White House but weren’t able to get it done.”
Senate leaders from both parties expressed renewed optimism Wednesday that a deal was on the horizon, potentially as early as next week.
The something-is-better-than-nothing argument from their Senate colleagues has not sat well with House conservatives as negotiations drag on.
Hardliners have threatened to vote against government funding to force a shutdown while others float the idea of trying to oust Mr. Johnson if he accepts a border security deal that conservatives deem too weak.
House Republicans fumed at leaked details of ongoing border talks reported by The Times and others that revealed under current draft proposals that up to 5,000 illegal, daily crossings would be allowed before expulsion powers take effect.
Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, the lead Democratic negotiator on border talks, conceded the sole reason that they and Mr. Biden are at the table is due to stalled Ukraine aid — not because Democrats want to address the record flow of illegal crossings.
“We’re in a room talking about the border because Republicans are conditioning their support for Ukraine on a resolution of immigration and border policy,” Mr. Murphy said. “We are having this conversation now because there is a threat to let Putin conquer Ukraine that we simply cannot live with.”
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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