Speaker Johnson pushes border reform in meeting with Biden on Ukraine aid

Following a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, Jan. 17, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters he pressed President Biden on immigration reform, calling the southern border a “national security and humanitarian catastrophe.” Biden invited congressional leaders to push for more aid to Ukraine, aid that has been blocked by House Republicans for months over demands of a stricter border policy as the U.S.-Mexico border has been flooded with a record number of migrants.

But the American people have those same concerns about our own domestic sovereignty, and our safety, and our security.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

According to the Pew Research Center, 10.5 million undocumented immigrants have been living in the U.S. since 2021. While Republicans have drawn a proverbial line in the sand demanding the border be addressed in any Ukraine-Israel funding package, the meeting may have marked a path forward for negotiations that have been at a stalemate in Congress.

Biden has requested $61.4 billion in additional funding for Ukraine, which includes additional funding for Israel. Still, it hinges on what border policy changes both sides can agree upon.

Any party that says do it my way or no way, we’re not going to get anything done.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

“We understand that there is concern about the safety, security, sovereignty of Ukraine,” Speaker Johnson said. “But the American people have those same concerns about our own domestic sovereignty, and our safety, and our security.”

In talking to reporters following the meeting, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer expressed some hope that talks are moving in the right direction, with both sides having similar goals. But he did note that compromise is the only way anything gets passed.

Today, I’ll join bipartisan Congressional leaders to meet with @POTUS at the White House and discuss the importance of passing a national security supplemental.

It’s a matter of the highest national urgency that both parties keep working together pass the supplemental.

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 17, 2024

“The only way we will do border and Ukraine, or even either of them, is bipartisan,” Schumer said. “Any party that says do it my way or no way, we’re not going to get anything done.”