{"id":11213,"date":"2023-12-07T19:46:23","date_gmt":"2023-12-07T19:46:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/connectwithfund.com\/politics\/biden-open-to-policy-changes-on-the-border-as-his-push-for-ukraine-funding-stalls\/"},"modified":"2023-12-07T19:46:23","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T19:46:23","slug":"biden-open-to-policy-changes-on-the-border-as-his-push-for-ukraine-funding-stalls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/connectwithfund.com\/?p=11213","title":{"rendered":"Biden open to policy changes on the border as his push for Ukraine funding stalls"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n President Joe Biden is sending a clear message to Democratic negotiators on Capitol Hill that he is open to striking a compromise with Republicans on border security in order to get talks on funding for Ukraine back on track.\n <\/p>\n

\n During his impassioned speech in the White House\u2019s Roosevelt Room on Wednesday, Biden said he felt Republicans haven\u2019t been willing to make a deal, though some have since expressed optimism about the direction of negotiations.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI am willing to make significant\u00a0compromises on the border. We need to fix the broken border system, it is broken. And thus far, I\u2019ve gotten no response,\u201d he said as he made a fresh appeal to lawmakers, adding that failure to reach a compromise would serve as a \u201cgift\u201d for Russian President Vladimir Putin.\n <\/p>\n

\n But, he added, \u201cThis has to be a negotiation.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cRepublicans think they can get everything they want without any bipartisan compromise,\u201d the president said.\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s not the answer. \u2026\u00a0And now they\u2019re willing to literally kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield and damage our national security in the process.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n If struck, a deal could end a stalemate that the president said imperils the future of Ukraine\u2019s sovereignty and democracy around the world, while also upheaving US immigration policy, which has served as an intractable issue in Congress for decades.\n <\/p>\n

\n Acknowledging the country\u2019s immigration system is \u201cbroken,\u201d Biden made direct overtures toward Republicans who want policy changes along the border, saying he is willing to do \u201csignificantly more\u201d than he has already proposed. He also signaled an openness to changing policy \u2013 but was vague on what exact policy changes he would consider.\n <\/p>\n

\n Some of the\u00a0changes that the White House has expressed openness to are reminiscent of the Trump-era that previously received fierce pushback from advocate, according to three sources familiar with the discussions.\n <\/p>\n

\n Sources tell CNN the changes the White House\u00a0telegraphed to the Hill\u00a0included, for example, raising the credible fear standard for migrants seeking asylum, which could have the effect of making fewer migrants eligible for asylum. They also were open\u00a0to\u00a0casting a wider net of undocumented immigrants subject to the fast-track deportation procedure known as \u201cexpedited removal,\u201d which the Trump administration tried to do and would give greater latitude in quickly deporting undocumented immigrants.\n <\/p>\n

\n Republicans, including leading negotiator Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, had accused Biden and Democrats<\/a> of \u201cthrowing more money at this problem\u201d instead of seeking a real solution. In addition to about $60 billion in economic and military aid to Ukraine, Biden\u2019s $106 billion supplemental request already allocates $14 billion for border security. Billions more would go toward Israel and Taiwan.\n <\/p>\n

\n It appears that some progress has been made among lawmakers, even after Senate Republicans scuttled the supplemental funding bill for Ukraine on Wednesday night.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI think we\u2019re pretty close to it,\u201d said Rep. Tony Gonzales, whose Texas district includes 823 miles of the US-Mexico border.\n <\/p>\n

\n Gonzales told CNN he wants to see more concessions from Democrats in border policy negotiations, but expressed optimism over the direction of talks.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere needs to be more,\u201d Gonzales said when asked about the proposals the White House has floated. He said he wanted the Biden administration to carry out more deportation flights instead of focusing funds on soft-sided facilities that have been used for processing the influx of migrants.\n <\/p>\n

\n Still, Gonzales described talks as \u201cclose.\u201d He\u2019s been in touch with Lankford, as well as other leading negotiators.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe just have to have the administration realize that they have a problem,\u201d Gonzales said.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThat problem is growing. That problem is expanding. And the problem is also solvable.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n But the situation on the Hill has led the White House to back off its confidence that Ukraine funding can get done in time.\n <\/p>\n

\n Pressed by CNN\u2019s MJ Lee during Thursday\u2019s White House press briefing on whether or not the White House could offer Ukraine any assurances that additional funding is headed their way, White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said, \u201cWe are not in a position to make that promise to Ukraine, given where things are on the Hill.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The comments marked a stark departure from the confidence the administration has previously signaled about Congress\u2019 ability to pass additional aid to Ukraine as it fights Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013\u00a0during a briefing just last month, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters he \u201ccontinue[s] to remain confident that, while this has been a winding road since we began the effort to secure additional funding for Ukraine, that there is a strong bipartisan majority in both houses to do it and we will ultimately get it done.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n CNN\u2019s Donald Judd contributed to this report.\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n