Washington — President Biden is set to meet with congressional leaders on Wednesday afternoon as a monthslong dispute over border security and aid for Ukraine makes its way to the White House.
The high-stakes meeting is set to focus on what the White House calls “the critical importance” of the president’s supplemental funding request, which includes money for Ukraine, Israel, border security and more. The White House said congressional leaders, key committee chairs and ranking members were invited to the 3:15 p.m. sit-down, but it has not released a full list of participants.
For months, the spending package has been up in the air after congressional Republicans made their backing contingent on the Ukraine aid being tied to enhanced border security measures and immigration policy changes. Senate negotiations aimed at forging a compromise on immigration issues dragged through the holidays and into the new year.
Seeking to attract a group of moderates from both parties to back the aid package, senators have been circling a middle-ground deal that would represent a major breakthrough after decades of failed efforts in Congress to reform the immigration system.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said ahead of the meeting that the upper chamber has “made a lot of good progress” in recent weeks, noting that he’s “hopeful that things are headed in the right direction.”
“I expect the meeting with President Biden will reinforce something I’ve been saying all along: It’s a matter of the highest national urgency that both parties keep working together to pass the supplemental,” the New York Democrat said. “The eyes of history are upon this chamber.”
But even if the Senate reaches and passes a deal on immigration, its prospects for approval in the House are far from certain.
House Republicans skeptical of Senate immigration talks
Kent Nishimura / Getty Images
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said at a news conference earlier Wednesday that House Republicans are “anxious” to see the Senate agreement on border security and acknowledged the “thoughtful” negotiations. But he quickly cast doubt on whether there would be support for the immigration reform in the lower chamber.
“I don’t think now is the time for comprehensive immigration reform, because we know how complicated that is,” Johnson said, noting that it can’t be done quickly. “I do think it’s past time to secure the border.”
House Republicans have stood firm on a demand that a House-passed border security bill known as H.R. 2 be the baseline of any immigration agreement — a nonstarter in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Johnson touted H.R. 2 again on Wednesday, noting that it would restore the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, end the quick release of migrants into the U.S., reform the asylum and parole processes and resume construction of the southern border wall.
“Those elements are critically important,” Johnson said. “You can’t choose from among those on a menu and assume that you’re going to solve the problem.”
The speaker said House Republicans are “demanding real, transformative policy change,” noting that they’re “standing on that line,” which he said he plans to tell the president at Wednesday’s meeting.
When asked about Ukraine aid, Johnson made clear that he would tell Mr. Biden that border security comes first, saying “we have to secure our own border before we talk about doing anything else.”
He also said House Republicans need answers to “critical questions” about the U.S. strategy in Ukraine and accountability for funding to Kyiv.
“We need to know that Ukraine would not be another Afghanistan,” Johnson said.
