WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s push to have Congress replenish wartime aid for Ukraine as part of a deal on border and immigration policy changes will almost certainly drag into next year.
The Senate, which had postponed its holiday recess, returned to Washington on Monday after negotiators worked through the weekend on the border legislation, trying to reach an agreement that could unlock the Republican votes for Biden’s $110 billion package of aid for Ukraine, Israel and other security priorities.
But senators said they still had plenty of work ahead, and it remained uncertain how many more days the Senate will remain in session this week. Barely half of the senators returned for a Monday evening vote.
“Obviously we need time,” said Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, the top Democratic negotiator.
The delay heaps more uncertainty on the future of the Biden administration’s priority of providing support against Russia‘s invasion. It also puts a potential pause on politically fraught negotiations over immigration and border security policy, though Senate negotiators planned to continue working on the package.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the negotiations were “among the most difficult things we’ve done in recent memory.”
“Everyone knows that something should be done to fix our broken immigration system,” he said in a Senate floor speech to start the week. “But we can’t do so by…
