Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., the GOP's lead negotiator on the Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and border supplemental, says he expects a breakthrough which will clear the way for its passage.
Lankford made his comments during an interview on Politico's "Playbook Deep Dive" podcast.
He agreed failure is not an option when it comes to the bill.
The White House and Congress are racing to strike a deal that would deliver military aid to Israel and Ukraine while discouraging illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border with only days until lawmakers depart for a Christmas break, according to Reuters.
Republicans have refused to approve more Ukraine funding without additional measures to reduce the record number of migrants attempting to cross the U.S. border illegally, leading to a complex negotiation pairing the largely unrelated issues.
The Biden administration is considering getting behind new restrictions on who can seek asylum and an expanded deportation process to secure new aid for Ukraine and Israel in the supplemental funding bill, a source familiar with discussions told Reuters.
"People by the millions are saying, in almost every poll, the number one issue is the economy, and the number two issue is immigration and border security," Lankford said. "People across the board see this as a major issue."
Politico noted that during the interview, he scolded the media for saying the talks on the supplemental were dead and he chided House GOP leaders for demanding too much. In addition, he also made positive comments about President Joe Biden's commitment to enforcement at the border.
He said he expects a compromise, which would address border security.
"We'll solve it," he said. "We have to. We'll just keep working until we solve it."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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