Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday that negotiators are still working to iron out their differences on border security provisions in order to secure funding for Ukraine and Israel, but he is "significantly more optimistic" that they'll come together on an agreement.

The news comes one day after the White House said that the U.S. will send one more aid package to Ukraine this month before its ability to provide assistance runs dry without additional funds approved by Congress.

What You Need To Know

  • The U.S. will send one more aid package to Ukraine this month before its ability to provide assistance runs dry without additional funds approved by Congress, the White House said on Monday 
  • When pressed by a reporter, Kirby did not give details on exactly how much assistance the U.S. has left for Ukraine and thus the amount that would be included in the expected final package
  • The fate of such additional aid to Ukraine and Biden’s more than $100 billion national security supplemental funding request as a whole has become tied to delicate negotiations over U.S. border policies
  • Both Democratic and Republican Senate leaders noted they were encouraged by progress in the talks on Monday, but signaled it could take time to fully work through 

The Biden administration has warned for weeks that its resources to send assistance to the war-torn country battling Russia were running out and could be gone by the end of the year, but Monday’s announcement put more clarity on the exact timeline at play. The White House requested a more than $106 billion package to help Ukraine repel Russia's invasion, aid Israel in its fight against Hamas, and provide funding for humanitarian aid, border security and assistance to Indo-Pacific allies, including Taiwan.

“We are still planning one more aid package to Ukraine later this month," National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told reporters on Monday. “However, when that one is done, as the comptroller, Mr. [Mike] McCord, made clear in his note to Congress today, we will have no replenishment authority available to us and we’re going to need Congress to act without delay.”  

When pressed by a reporter, Kirby did not give details on exactly how much assistance the U.S. has left for Ukraine and thus the amount that would be included in the expected final package, instead reiterating: “We’ve got enough for one good aid package left.”

“Ukraine still needs our help,” he said, “and it's well past time for Congress to act to stand up for freedom and democracy and defense of our own national security interests which are very much at play here.” 

But the fate of such additional aid to Ukraine and Biden’s more than $100 billion national security supplemental funding request as a whole has become tied to delicate negotiations over U.S. border policies. Republicans insist they will not support more funds for the country without substantial changes at the border. 

After a weekend of talks between a bipartisan group of senators and the White House over such border policy changes, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday after a lunch meeting with his Democratic caucus that he is optimistic about where things stand.

"Negotiations aren't easy," he warned. "We know it's going to take more time, but I am significantly more optimistic today than I was Thursday when we left based on the negotiations that have occurred all weekend."

"We worked 24/7 all throughout the weekend," said Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, the lead Democratic negotiator.. "We are closer than ever before to an agreement."

Murphy added that the "momentum is heading in the right direction" and he believes it will continue this week, but pledged to stay "at the negotiating table for however long it takes."

"We need to get this right," he said, later adding: "There's a reason why Congress hasn't passed major immigration or border reform in 40 years. This is tough to come to a compromise, and it's just as tough to write, to make sure you get the ideas down to paper in a way that makes sure that the policy is implemented correctly."

After a lunch meeting with his own conference, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., appeared to share the Democrats' optimism on where the talks stand, as well as the urgency of getting the aid passed.

"I think it's pretty safe to say that we've made some significant progress, but we obviously aren't there," the Kentucky Republican said. "But that needs to be a part of this overall request from the administration, which remains extremely important."

McConnell said that the foreign aid package is "extremely important" -- calling this period on the world stage the "most dangerous time since the fall of the Berlin Wall" -- and said the most complicated aspect of it is the border security portion.

"I think we haven't passed a significant immigration bill since [Ronald] Reagan's second term," he said. "This is not easy, but we're working hard to get an outcome. The country needs it and needs it soon."

Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said negotiations on an agreement will stretch into the new year. 

Although Republicans in the upper chamber have taken on hard line on the border policy changes being tied to Ukraine aid, most GOP senators generally support additional assistance to the country. Getting any potential agreement through the House – where a portion of the conference is against any more aid to Ukraine altogether and members may be less willing to accept compromises on border policy – may be a more arduous task. 

The House has already left for the holiday break. 

Biden is also facing pushback from some in his own party who are worried the White House will give up too much when it comes to immigration and the border in order to get the Ukraine assistance over the finish line. 

Last week, Biden called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to descend on Washington for one more direct appeal to lawmakers to green light the requested funds.