WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden and top congressional leaders met at the White House on Wednesday as the Senate moved closer to a bipartisan immigration deal that would launch critical military aid to Ukraine.
Optimism about reaching an agreement reached an all-time high ahead of the meeting, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell telling reporters they expected an agreement to be reached soon.
“We’re closer than we’ve ever been,” Schumer said. “I think the odds of the Senate getting it done the first time are greater than the chances of not getting it done.”
The Democratic Party's top negotiator who participated in the talks also agreed.
“I’ve been involved enough in the negotiations to know when they’re going to end, and I feel like we’re getting there,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told reporters. “Did you say that three weeks ago?”
Republican Chairman Mike Johnson, who has left the White House, called Wednesday's meeting “productive” and told Biden and Democratic lawmakers, “We need to see change at the border. There needs to be real policy change.”
Johnson and House conservatives have been pressuring the Democratic-led Senate to take up the Republican-only border bill, known as HR 2. But after Wednesday's meeting, Johnson appeared to soften those demands, saying: “It is the name of the bill, but we insist that its elements must be meaningful.”
The speaker also described support for Ukraine as “necessary,” but added, “We must insist that our borders are our top priority.”
Schumer called the meeting “a very good meeting” and said “there was a lot of agreement” on how to address immigration issues and aid to Ukraine.
“There were some people in the room who said let’s do the border first. We should do both together,” Schumer said. National security adviser Jake Sullivan added that Ukraine had told lawmakers at the meeting exactly when it would run out of military supplies. Without additional support from the United States.
“It was very powerful,” Schumer said.
House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, described what Biden told participants at the meeting. “He said I was ready to bring significant change to our borders. He said it was broken. He knows it needs to be fixed.”
McConnell of Kentucky said Wednesday morning that he expects the Senate to vote next week on a new immigration package involving aid to Ukraine, funding to Israel and aid to Taiwan.
“We have many important international responsibilities. And I think now is the time to move forward with the supplement, and we expect that to be in front of us next week,” he said.
That prompted a swift rebuke from Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas.
And on Wednesday, a group of 17 conservative Senate Republicans sent a letter to Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso of Wyoming requesting a special meeting to discuss concerns about Ukraine funding. Barrasso quickly scheduled a meeting for the following Wednesday.
But even if the immigration and foreign aid package passes the Senate, it's unclear what happens next. House members were not involved in the talks between senators and administration officials.
Johnson said the emerging Senate immigration deal would not start in the House. On Wednesday he declared: “I don’t think now is the time for comprehensive immigration reform because we know how complex this is. “I can’t do it quickly.”
One possibility would be for the House and Senate to meet and allow negotiators from each chamber to hammer out a deal on immigration and border security.
Wednesday's gathering in the Cabinet Office was the first formal meeting between Biden and Johnson (the two spoke briefly last October, when the new chairman and other Hill leaders received a classified White House briefing on the additions). The meeting also comes at a pivotal moment in Washington as political leaders tackle other important issues. Congress must pass short-term stopgap measures by Friday night to prevent a government shutdown and give more time to pass a dozen budget bills.
In addition to Johnson, Schumer and McConnell, the White House meeting was attended by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Y) and Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate committees that oversee the budget, foreign affairs, military and intelligence. It's important.
According to the White House, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, and Budget Director Shalanda Young attended.
“Our goal is to give the administration more tools to better manage our border while living up to our values as a nation of immigrants,” Murphy said Wednesday. “This is the most complex area of U.S. law. So it’s not surprising that it’s taking a while to work out the last few issues and resolve them in text.”