Congressional Republicans and Democrats remain at loggerheads over how to deal with border security and an additional aid package for Ukraine, with just one week left before their recess recess.
Leading consultant Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) ranked each other in the Sunday morning show appearance battle.
“At this point, the Republican demands are unreasonable,” Murphy told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“If I were a cynic, I would say that Republicans have decided to tie support for Ukraine to immigration reform because they want Ukraine aid to fail,” the Democrat said.
Murphy emphasized that he is “not a cynic” and that Democrats are “still trying to work out some pretty big differences that remain.”
Lankford responded to CBS’ “Face the Nation” attack, “This started with the Biden administration saying that we have to do a national security package that has Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and the border.
“What we’re trying to do is articulate the tools needed to get it back under control so we don’t have chaos on our southern border,” GOPer said.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) blasted the Republican claim as “unreasonable.” Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) insisted that Congress needs to address the border. Getty Images
Since House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) took the gavel, he has insisted that Congress pair Ukraine aid and border security together.
With that, the White House launched an additional request totaling $106 billion including support for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, border security and more.
But Republicans denounced the border provision as woefully inadequate.
Both Murphy and Lankford have been negotiating over the border allocation for about a month but appear to remain distant from each other.
Encounters with immigrants at the border have skyrocketed under President Biden’s watch.
Cities across the country have been overwhelmed by the influx of immigrants. New York Post
During fiscal year 2023, a record 3.2 million encounters were reported, including 309,000 in October alone, according to data from the US Border Patrol.
Almost all Republicans, including moderates like Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah.), appears to be on board with linking border security and Ukraine aid.
Even some Democrats including Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) have said border talks are a “reasonable conversation.”
Lankford praised the Secure the Border Act of 2023, which cleared the GOP-led House of Representatives without Democratic support earlier this year, as a model.
“Obviously, we’re not going to get 20, 30 Democrats in the Senate, or a Democratic White House to be able to sign it. But that doesn’t mean we just sit and do nothing,” he said.
Meanwhile, large numbers of immigrants crossing the border seek asylum, and Murphy vowed that Democrats would oppose any legislation to restrict the border to those who “legitimately” seek asylum.
Republicans are struggling with an uneasy base to write another big check to war-torn Ukraine. AP
Still, he’s open to “tightening some of the rules, so you don’t have 10,000 people arriving a day.”
Democrats seem wary of ceding too much ground to Republicans for fear they will have little leverage in future negotiations for permanent solutions to so-called “Dreamers” — or undocumented immigrants who grew up in the US — and undocumented immigrants.
Last week, Politico reported that Republicans were proposing deportation authorities similar to the pandemic-era Title 42, which would have allowed border agents to immediately turn away immigrants at the border — even asylum seekers.
“No, it’s actually not accurate,” Lankford said of the report. “There are some things I recommend about it, some things I haven’t.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) supports the negotiations, according to Sen. James Lankford. AP
He does not explain in detail what is right and what is not.
This week, the White House is likely to increase engagement in negotiations on the issue, Murphy said.
The Senate is scheduled to adjourn for recess later this week, raising the stakes for negotiations.
Ukraine begs the world not to forget them. Getty Images
White House and military officials have warned that funding for Ukraine is also dwindling.
Last week, Biden admonished that the GOP’s rejection of funding would be a Christmas “gift” to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Lankford responded, “I am by far no fan of Vladimir Putin, and the president knows it very well.
“This is not a Christmas present to him. If we’re going to deal with national security, we have to deal with Ukraine, and we have to deal with the border.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
