Bipartisan border, Ukraine deal looks set to fail in US Senate

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© Reuters. U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) holds up a challenge coin given to her by a border patrol officer during the weekly Democratic Caucus lunch press conference at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, U.S., February 6, 2024. REUTERS/Amanda An
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By Richard Cowan and Makini Brice

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A bipartisan effort to tighten border security and provide aid to allies Ukraine and Israel was headed for defeat in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, after Republicans egged on by former President Donald Trump turned against the idea.

The bill would represent the biggest shift in U.S. immigration policy in decades, reflecting heightened public concern about the massive number of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. It also would deliver $60 billion to Ukraine as it fights off a Russian invasion and $14 billion for Israel in its war with Hamas.

But Republicans have made clear they will vote against it, even though it contains many of their top priorities.

Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden, has urged lawmakers to reject any compromise, and Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson has said bill would be “dead on arrival” in his chamber. The Senate’s top Republican, Mitch McConnell, who has long advocated the deal, has said it does not have enough votes to pass.

Nevertheless, Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer has scheduled a vote to advance the bill at 1 p.m. (1800 GMT).

Concerns over immigration have become a top issue in this year’s election campaign, and Biden has blamed Trump for the deal’s collapse.

If the bill fails in the Senate as expected, Schumer plans to follow with another vote on a package that would provide aid for Ukraine, Israel and other allies without the border provisions, according to an aide. It is not clear that bill would succeed either.

Johnson, meanwhile, said on Wednesday he will hold another vote to impeach Biden’s top border official, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, after a first attempt failed in a 214-216 vote on Tuesday.

“It was a mess what happened here, but we’re cleaning it up,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

Johnson has denied that his opposition to the bill is political and aimed at helping Trump’s presidential campaign by denying Biden a win on the contentious issue. He says a provision that would allow authorities to temporarily shut the border to most migrants if more than 5,000 people try to enter per day is inadequate.

Republicans have previously sunk bipartisan efforts to overhaul immigration laws in 2013 and 2014.

With suspense over the fate of the legislation dissipating, Republicans have gone back to attacking Biden’s immigration policies and dismissing a deal that was embraced by the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Border Patrol Council, the labor union that represents about 18,000 U.S. Border Patrol agents.

Some have said lawmakers should not tackle the issue until after the November elections, which will determine control of the White House and Congress.

“Americans will turn to the upcoming election to end the border crisis,” said John Barrasso, the Senate’s No. 3 Republican.