Biden held a meeting on help for Ukraine/Collage 24 Channel, Getty Images< p _ngcontent-sc90 class="news-annotation">On January 17, Joe Biden met with congressional leaders. Together they discussed negotiations on a national security spending bill to help our nation. The meeting was preceded by a statement from Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who also invited. He told reporters he expected an additional package to be considered next weekwith help for Ukraine. True, this could be either the actual next week or the plenary one of the Congress.At the meeting they started talking about cautious progress< /h2>
First of all, it is worth noting about the signals that the Republicans are sending. They claim that now is the best time to make a deal, as far as the border is concerned.
For those who think that if President Trump wins, and I hope he does, that we can reach a better agreement, you don't. You must get 60 votes in the Senate. “This is a historic moment for border reform for my fellow Republicans,” said Senator Lindsey Graham.
John Thune, his colleague in the Senate, noted that “the Democrats will not give us anything close to this if we have to get 60 votes in the United States Senate with a Republican majority.” He assured that there is a unique opportunity, and that the time is right for this.
Senate Republican Leader McConnell also reached out to Mike Johnson. He said: “Get ready to get an agreement from the Senate on the border and Ukraine.” Essentially, he “suggested” that the Senate would consider the support bill next week.
Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, said that “we are closer than ever.” He called “this a very good meeting” and added that a large number of agreements were reached at the table regarding resolving immigration issues, as well as providing assistance to Ukraine.
I've been in enough negotiations to know when you're getting close to the end, and I feel like we're there, said Democratic chief negotiator Chris Murphy.
Himself Speaker Mike Johnson called the meeting at the White House “productive.” He told Joe Biden and the Democrats that “we must change the situation at the border.” And that significant policy changes are coming.
We do not insist on a specific title for the bill, but we do insist that the elements must be meaningful, – he noted.
It is interesting that before the meeting, Johnson stated that until the administration closes the border, they do not plan to consider any other requests. He also used talking points such as the need for stricter accountability for aid provided to Ukraine, as well as the lack of a strategy to end the war started by Russia.
