Sen. John Thune (R-South Dakota) has joined forces with President Joe Biden for a capitulation deal on unlimited immigration that includes tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid to Ukraine.
This withdrawal would give the White House a key election-year victory and push Republicans to make substantive changes in border policy that could potentially alleviate one of the greatest concerns of Americans for generations. will give up the greatest influence it has had in decades.
Related Video — Van Hollen: Linking Biden to Ukraine aid on 'long-sought-after' border security jeopardizes timely aid to Ukraine:
Senate negotiators have been leading efforts for months to combine some form of border security measures with billions of dollars in additional funding, primarily to advance Ukraine's beleaguered war effort against Russia. . The war has been at a stalemate for almost a year, costing untold millions of dollars and costing countless lives.
But hesitation about more foreign aid and calls for a truly substantive border package from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Los Angeles) led the House to seek a compromise on the two issues.
Key details of the deal, which essentially amounts to a border surrender, have come under widespread condemnation, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson indicating he has no intention of passing the bill through the Commons.
On Wednesday, Mr. Biden will host Congressional leaders at the White House and flex his muscle to pressure Mr. Johnson to surrender.
Thune's latest position appears to support Biden's tactics, arguing that the leaked deal is worth supporting.
US President Joe Biden (Republican) welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to the White House in Washington, DC on December 21, 2022. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“With a Republican majority in the Senate, there's no way we're going to get the kind of border policy we're talking about,” Thune told Punchbowl News ahead of Wednesday's White House meeting. Ta. “This is a unique moment. It's a chance to have really conservative borders. [policies] That's something we haven't had for 40 years. ”
According to Punchbowl,
Thune argued that with a Republican majority and a Republican president, there wouldn't be enough Democrats willing to give Republicans the 60 votes they need for border policy. A similar effort last time under the Trump administration failed, in part because of that. Things are different today. Democrats are being forced to accept Republican border policy proposals because the Biden administration's priority foreign aid package cannot pass without them.
But for months, Mr. Thune oscillated between lip service in support of H.R. 2, insistence that the White House must make concessions, and concerns that the entire exercise would be in vain.
In early November, when negotiations on foreign aid and border security were in their early stages, Prime Minister Thun Said Johnson's plan to tie HR2 to foreign aid has “a lot” of support among Senate Republicans, adding, “It would be strong.”
Migrants cross the Rio Grande into the United States through Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, on January 2, 2024 (Helica Martinez/AFP)
But within a few days, Thun apparently reversed He clarified his position on the idea of tying aid to Ukraine to specific border criteria, saying “nothing has been resolved.”
“There are concerns, and rightly so, that anything we pass will not be enforced by the current administration,” he said. “And if you don't have the right metrics and results, you can come up with all the best policies and they're going to ignore it.”
These comments contradict Thune's latest position, echoing the view of his ally, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), that progress on the border issue is impossible in a future Trump administration. are doing.
Despite these concerns, Toon was introduced in November. Cooperative Eighty percent of Senate negotiators are continuing to work on the Ukraine border issue during the Thanksgiving recess, and intend to act on the Ukraine issue without waiting until mid-January, when Congress is set to meet a new federal funding deadline.
Attention — Himes: Response to “uncontrolled influx” at the border should not be linked to “real” Ukrainian funds:
And he went on to talk tough about border security, tell After the Thanksgiving holiday, Fox News called the White House's border security a “complete and utter failure” and said there was “no chance” that the supplement would pass the House and Senate without addressing the national security crisis. I don't get it.'' It's on our border. ”
“We're going to insist on it,” he said.
Tune too called The Biden administration will need to make some concessions to pass the bill. “If the White House really wants to get this done, especially if they want to get it done by the holidays, they're going to have to start making concessions on some things at some point,” he said.
But Thune believes it's Republicans who now have to make concessions.
The dynamics of the government's funding struggle contributed to the latest strategy to reach a border agreement with Ukraine.
Congress passed a continuing resolution in late September to avoid a partial government shutdown. This agreement eliminated a significant opportunity to continue emptying American coffers to aid Ukraine, and the search for a compromise between Ukraine and the border began shortly thereafter.
Look — it’s a shakedown! Biden and Zelenskyy ask Americans for more Ukraine money:
White House / YouTube
On Friday, Congress is expected to pass another continuing resolution once the government's funding dries up again, denying pro-Ukrainian lawmakers another chance to increase funding.
That reality likely led to the current turmoil in trying to move forward with an agreement on borders and Ukraine.
Some lawmakers, including Mr. Thune, are calling for action to stem the influx of immigrants and pro-globalist low-wage labor providers, steering a needle between the demands of Americans across the ideological spectrum. are forced to do so.
Rising to the top of Senate leadership traditionally requires the support of these donors.
Mr. Thune has made it clear that he hopes to replace Mr. McConnell as the top Republican in the Senate.
Bradley Jay is Breitbart News' Capitol Hill correspondent. Follow him on X/Twitter. @BradleyAJay.
