Republican senators urge Biden to step in after Schumer vote fails over border dispute

Several Republican senators said on Thursday they are no longer having productive negotiations with Senate Democrats on a border deal that is critical to passing $111 billion in foreign spending and are urging President Joe Biden to get involved.

The push for the White House to step in comes after the Senate failed to advance tens of billions of dollars in emergency funding for Ukraine and Israel on Wednesday amid an impasse over border talks, which top GOP leaders are insisting must be included in any supplemental legislation to gain their support.

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“Here’s what’s next, the commander in chief, Joe Biden, needs to wake up and do something about a broken border. It’s his job above all others to secure the nation,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), standing alongside Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tom Cotton (R-AK) and John Thune (R-SD) at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) has been the key negotiator for Senate Democrats in border talks, but Graham said he’s skeptical he will be able to make any progress.

“Sen. Murphy is a fine fellow, but it’s never going to happen as long as Sen. Schumer is in charge of these negotiations,” Graham said. “These negotiations should end because he doesn’t understand — it’s hard to fix a problem if you don’t understand what it’s all about.”

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Negotiations have hit a breaking point after Republicans demanded aggressive steps be taken to decrease the flow of migration, while Democrats say Republicans are attempting to make radical changes to legal immigration in the country.

“Republicans have to understand we are not going to shut down the border completely. We need to at least have the ability for people fleeing terror and torture to come to the United States,” Murphy said during an appearance on CNN on Wednesday night. “Shutting down the legal pathways into the United States — all that does is encourage people to come here illegally, to sneak into the country, making a bigger mess than we have today.”

FBI Director Christopher Wray warned the attack by Hamas on Israel in early October will inspire the most significant terrorist threat the U.S. has seen since the rise of the Islamic State during a congressional hearing on Tuesday. Senate Republicans continue to raise concerns that those on the terrorist watch list could be entering the country through the southern border.

“I care about Ukraine’s homeland security, I care about Israel’s homeland security, but it would be immoral for me to put those two ahead of what I think is a clear and present threat to our homeland security,” Tillis said during the press conference.

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), who is leading the negotiations for Republicans, met with Murphy once again on Thursday in an attempt to find a consensus, but it’s unclear if there has been any progress.

Lawmakers are only scheduled to be in session through next week before breaking for a holiday recess for the rest of the month. Senators are already calling to stay through the holidays until a deal is reached.

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The White House Thursday blamed Republicans for blocking the aid bill, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre calling it “stunning” that Republicans in Congress are “willing to give [Vladimir] Putin a gift” by not passing aid to Ukraine.

“They are playing chicken with our national security,” she said.