Republicans will seek to exploit the White House’s intense desire for more aid to Ukraine by tying it to long-sought changes in border and immigration policy, according to a report from Politico.
According to the report, Democrats are acquiescing to the reality that they must make significant concessions to Republicans to continue subsidizing Ukraine’s war effort against Russia.
White House officials have reached out to members of each party in Congress to gauge their receptiveness to tying the two items. However, Republicans are unlikely to agree to throwing more money to carry out current border policies and are likely to demand significant policy changes in exchange for their support.
The White House’s initial $40 billion supplemental request for a September spending bill included $24 billion in aid to Ukraine and $4 billion for the border.
Conservatives balked at that imbalance. Ukraine aid is increasingly unpopular among voters, and Congress has already allocated $113 billion to the war.
The White House and prominent “Ukraine First” politicians in Washington in both parties acknowledged that $24 billion request would not be the last, with some administration officials speculating that around $100 billion will be needed over the next year to keep the faraway country afloat in its war.
Biden’s border and migration policies are an increasing source of trouble for President Biden as his polling on the issue has taken hits among both Republicans and Democrats. Yet Democrats chafe at some speculated demands for changes from Republicans.
“In conversations with members, we advocate for the supplemental that President Biden sent to Congress and released to the public — not border policies that weren’t included in that proposal,” said White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates in a statement to Politico, adding:
The administration has been clear that Congress must act with a sense of urgency on both the border security funding the president has called for and aid to Ukraine, both of which are included in the supplemental. These priorities should not be conditioned on harmful border policies.
One possible demand from conservatives is passage of H.R. 2, the tough border security package passed by the House earlier this year. That will be a tough pill to swallow for the White House.
But Republicans argue that simply throwing money at the Biden administration to continue carrying out its harmful and counterproductive border policies would simply make the problem worse.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who acknowledges the possibility of connecting Ukraine and border aid, argued that increased enforcement that would come from additional funding could be considered a policy change by conservatives that could justify their support.
“There’s a point at which funding also means more rigorous enforcement and that may be viewed as a policy change,” he said.
That argument is unlikely to carry water with conservatives who see the White House’s fervency for continued Ukraine funding as possibly their best leverage point for border security in years.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) believes Democrats must offer substance at the border in exchange for conservatives to sign off on more Ukraine aid, telling MSNBC “Democrats have to come to grips that we have to close that border down.”
Manchin urged Biden to declare a national emergency as did former President Donald Trump and stated that “asylum basically should be put on hiatus for six months or so until we can get an immigration policy that works for our country.”
The House must elect a Speaker before advancing appropriations bills or any supplemental spending bill that ties Ukraine aid and border security, whether that compromise package includes more money for the border or policy changes.
The government’s funding runs out November 17.
Follow Bradley Jaye on Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
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