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CNN
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Congress is unlikely to come close to an agreement ahead of a crucial week of negotiations linking immigration and border policy changes in the emergency aid package that will provide money for Ukraine and Israel before lawmakers leave town for the holidays.
Republican Senator James Lankford and Democrat Sen. Chris Murphy, who leads immigration and border negotiations, said in separate interviews on Sunday that talks between the two sides are continuing.
“We’re still in the room trying to accommodate Republican demands,” Murphy said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We’re not going to put Donald Trump into the immigration laws. … It’s going to be bad for the country. But, we have to do something to try to solve this problem at the border.”
Describing this view of negotiations as “one of the most dangerous times” in American history, Murphy warned in a clear manner about the national security consequences of not achieving a transaction.
“Vladimir Putin is happy right now that the Republicans are insisting that we get a deal on immigration reform, and if we don’t, then they’re going to let Vladimir Putin walk into Ukraine and maybe into Europe,” he told NBC.
President Joe Biden sent a clear message to lawmakers last week that he is open to making a deal with Republicans on border security. Although politicians from both sides have expressed the possibility of reaching an agreement, the two sides do not seem to be close to doing so. With House Republicans demanding that the Senate deal closely with the border bill passed by the House, HR 2, many Democrats said it was a non-starter.
But Lankford, who remained upbeat throughout the talks, expressed confidence that the negotiators have come a long way from where they started, even though they are mired in political “prediction and pull.”
“We have come a long way. It’s time to put an end to this and make a decision and do what we can to help the country. We can’t do everything on the border, but we can do things to start controlling the border so that the United States controls our borders, not the cartels,” he said. Lankford on CBS’ Face the Nation.”
“It started with the Biden administration saying we should create a national security package that includes Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and the border,” Lankford said. “Right now, the push and pull is more of a political push and pull than anything else.”
White House budget director Shalanda Young, meanwhile, indicated in another interview on CBS Sunday that a deal could still be reached, but warned that the demands would not be met. and a compromise that would stop negotiations.
“You can’t get everything your way in a negotiation. Democrats and Republicans should vote for this bill. So I agree it’s time to cut a deal that all parties can agree on.” two,” Young said.
If Congress leaves town for the holidays without making a deal, the White House must do so. difficult decision about giving friends like Ukraine in the crisis of the preparedness of the American military. The top officials of the Biden administration have been sounding the alarm for weeks about the funding for Ukraine that is drying up and the possible consequences.
Murphy, the chief Democratic negotiator, also publicly announced what he saw as a middle ground for the package.
“We don’t want to close the United States of America to people who are coming here to be rescued from dangerous, miserable, life-threatening situations,” Murphy said. “We do not support anything that completely closes the border to people who are coming here to save their lives. But, we are willing to talk about enforcing some laws so that we don’t have ten thousand people arriving today.