McConnell signals border, Ukraine bill won’t be ready this week

WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — Senate negotiations are ongoing as lawmakers scramble to reach a last-minute deal to replenish $110 billion worth of much-needed military aid for America’s foreign allies while strengthening security at the southern border. But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has told his caucus not to expect a vote this week.

“While there is progress being made in the border discussions there are significant issues still under discussion and a lot of very technical work on drafting which takes time to get right,” McConnell, R-Ky., said in a message obtained by NewsNation.

His message also said they would not vote for any procedural motions that would allow the bill to move on the floor “without text and sufficient time to review it.”

The senators and White House aides negotiating this deal have been meeting daily, including this past weekend, to hammer out a deal. Those negotiators spent hours behind closed doors on Sunday and, while they did report some progress, Republicans remain skeptical that a full agreement will be ready for a vote before the end of the year.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.; Sen. James Lankford, R- Okla.; and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., are the three lawmakers involved in those closed-door negotiations. Plus, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was involved in talks over the weekend.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer delayed the Senate’s holiday recess for at least a week to continue negotiations. He vowed to put the measure to a vote by the end of the week.

The House has already dismissed for the holiday season, but Speaker Mike Johnson could call the full House back to Washington D.C. for a voter if a deal is reached.

Late Sunday, a group of 15 GOP senators signed onto a letter criticizing the closed-door negotiations and calling for a meeting of the full Republican Senate conference after the new year, writing, “rushed and secret negotiations with Democrats who want an open border and who caused the current crisis will not secure the border. The American public deserves an open and transparent process which cannot occur until the house returns the week of Jan. 8, 2024.”

“The bottom line here is we feel that we’re being jammed. We’re not anywhere close to a deal. It’ll go into next year,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday.

Republicans want a return to Trump-era border policies in exchange for new aid, including the “Remain in Mexico Policy,” which includes fast-tracking deportation authorities, raising the bar for asylum standards and ending humanitarian parole.

President Joe Biden said earlier this month that he’s willing to compromise to get a deal done but needs Republicans to come to the table.

“Republicans think they can get everything they want without any bipartisan compromise. That’s not the answer, that’s not the answer,” Biden said. “Now, they are willing to literally knee-cap Ukraine on the battlefield, and damage national security in the process.”

The president continued, “I am willing to make significant compromises on the border. We need to fix the broken border system. It is broken.”

The border was a focal point for GOP candidates on the campaign trail as well. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told supporters he’d build a border wall if elected. At a rally late Sunday, former President Donald Trump promised to launch “the largest deportation operation in American history” if re-elected.