Despite optimism over the weekend for the release of legislative text for a possible border security package, no release is expected this week, a source close to bipartisan Senate negotiations tells Fox News.
The source added that there are a “thousand small things to work out.”
Despite no forthcoming release, Fox was told the talks have not lost momentum, and negotiators are pleased with where things stand.
Senators are aware of the need to ship further aid to Israel and Ukraine. There is also concern that any struggle with funding the government later this month could undercut such talks.
The source told Fox News that government funding “takes precedence” and has a “hard deadline.”
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Negotiators are expected to speak to Senate Democratic and Republican lunches tomorrow about the status of the talks.
The Biden administration has been directly involved in the talks as the president tries to both secure support for a top foreign policy priority — funding Ukraine’s defense against Russia — and demonstrate action on a potential political weakness — his handling of the historic number of migrants seeking asylum at the U.S. border with Mexico.
Biden has faced staunch resistance from conservatives to his $110 billion request for a package of wartime aid for Ukraine and Israel as well as other national security priorities. In the Senate, Republicans have demanded that the funding be paired with border security changes.
But in the House, conservatives have criticized any proposals that fall short of the strict border measures they passed on a party-line vote last year. And some House members aligned with Donald Trump, the former president and current Republican presidential front-runner, have suggested they would not support any bipartisan proposal — no matter the substance — if it means giving Biden a border bill to sign in an election year.
