Schumer Plans Senate Vote on Ukraine, Border Security Bill Next Week

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Thursday that the US Senate will vote next week on a bipartisan bill that would toughen security at the US-Mexico border and also provide additional aid to Ukraine and Israel.

Senate negotiators have been in talks over the deal for months as the legislation faced substantial opposition from Republicans in the Senate and the House of Representatives, who are aligned with Donald Trump.

US Senate to Vote on Border, Ukraine Deal

(Photo : Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 23: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a press conference following the Democrats weekly policy luncheon on January 23, 2024 in Washington, DC. Negotiations over border security, military aid to Ukraine and Israel, and the government budget continue this week on Capitol Hill.

Schumer stated on the Senate floor, "We cannot simply shirk from our responsibilities just because the task is difficult." He also noted that the text of the package will be available by Sunday, with the initial vote taking place no later than Wednesday.

Trump, seeking re-election to the White House, has urged Congress to reject the deal.

The Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, has also voiced doubts about the talks, claiming that the bipartisan measure would be "dead on arrival" in the GOP-controlled House if it emerged from the Senate.

For weeks, a group of senators from both parties have been trying to agree on tighter immigration laws and stop unauthorized immigrants at the southern border with Mexico. Numbers have fluctuated during Biden's presidency but are currently at record levels.

Republicans have made passing the legislation the condition for approving aid to Ukraine. As the war continued and as Trump, who has been conflicted about arming Kyiv, drew closer to securing the Republican nomination.

Trump Outrage Senate Leaders

The slim chances of the most recent negotiations working were highlighted last week when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell informed his colleagues that he doubted the party would back any agreement that emerges from the talks since Trump intended to run on immigration reform. Biden is losing ground in the polls due to both economic issues and conservative voters calling for greater security at the border.

Senators from both parties expressed outrage about Trump's blatant and sudden influence over nearly daily talks. "I hope we don't live in a world today in which one person inside the Republican party holds so much power that they could stop a bipartisan bill to try to give the president additional power at the border to make more sense of our immigration policy," Chris Murphy, the lead Democratic negotiator in the talks, said.

Politico revealed that McConnell had softened his stance the next day and told Republicans in a meeting that he still favored the negotiations. Schumer has now signaled that the bill may be ready in the Senate. However, specific details in the legislation have not been disclosed.

Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, is facing a rare cabinet member impeachment by the House due to his management of the southern border.