President Joe Biden on Wednesday hosted congressional leaders, including the top Republicans and Democrats in both chambers, at the White House to discuss his request for billions of dollars in aid for Ukraine, Israel, allies in the Indo-Pacific and the U.S.-Mexico border as the national security package hangs in limbo on Capitol Hill. 

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden on Wednesday hosted congressional leaders, including the top Republicans and Democrats in both chambers, at the White House to discuss his request for billions of dollars for Ukraine, Israel, allies in the Indo-Pacific and the U.S.-Mexico border 
  • Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., emerged from the Cabinet Room meeting declaring to reporters that there was “a large amount of agreement around the table that we must do Ukraine and we must do the border"
  • House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he insisted changes at the border must be the "top priority" in any agreement
  • In a statement, the White House said the president is committing to a bipartisan agreement as it relates to the border and is “encouraged” by progress in Senate negotiations

The meeting included Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. as well as the top Republican and Democratic members on the Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, Intelligence and Appropriations committees in both chambers, according to the White House.

On the White House side, the participants included Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. 

Schumer emerged from the Cabinet Room meeting declaring to reporters that there was “a large amount of agreement around the table that we must do Ukraine and we must do the border.” 

Speaking to reporters at the Capitol directly after leaving the White House, Schumer called the consensus on Ukraine aid — the area of the funding request in which some Republicans are most assertively pushing back — “remarkable.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., exited the West Wing saying while he understands there are concerns about Ukraine’s “safety, security and sovereignty,” addressing the U.S.-Mexico border is most important.

“We must insist, must insist that the border be the top priority. I think we have some consensus around the table, everyone understands the urgency of that,” Johnson told reporters at the White House on Wednesday. 

Biden made his supplemental funding request in October, asking for billions of dollars for Ukraine defense against Russia’s invasion, for Israel's war with Hamas, for the Indo-Pacific as China exerts its influence in the region and for the U.S.–Mexico border amid last year's increase in migrant crossings. 

Republicans, some of whom have taken a hard line on any additional U.S. aid to Ukraine, insisted that any more assistance to Kyiv must be tied to significant policy changes at the U.S.-Mexico border. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and Biden administration officials have been trying for weeks to hammer out a border deal that would unlock the full funding request. 

At the White House on Wednesday, Schumer declared he would put the chances of Senate negotiators reaching a deal at “a little bit greater than half.” 

“And that’s the first time I can say that,” he added. 

Earlier on Wednesday, Punchbowl News reported Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told Senate Republicans that the chamber could vote on the supplemental funding request tied to border policy changes next week. 

But even if a package makes it over the finish line in the Senate, it likely faces a rockier path forward in the GOP-controlled House, where a bipartisan compromise on border policy might not go far enough for some Republicans. 

Republicans in the lower chamber have insisted that the border bill the House passed along party lines last year, H.R. 2, be included in any agreement – something Democrats are highly unlikely to agree to. 

Following Wednesday’s meeting, Johnson said the House GOP is “not insistent upon a particular name of a piece of legislation, but we are insistent that the elements have to be meaningful.”

Speaking at the House Republican leadership press conference earlier on Wednesday, the speaker said he didn’t think now was the time for comprehensive immigration reform because you “can’t do that quickly.” 

“I do think it’s past time to secure the border. And that’s what H.R. 2 reflects,” Johnson added. 

In a statement after the meeting, the White House said Biden “underscored the importance of Congress ensuring Ukraine has the resources it needs” and once again called on members to quickly approve additional funds for the country. 

Biden has repeatedly warned about what he sees as the dire consequences if Congress does not sign off on his funding request, particularly the money for Ukraine. The president called in Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy himself to make a direct appeal to lawmakers in Washington late last year. 

In December, the White House sent Ukraine what the White House says will be the last aid package from the U.S. without more funding approved by Congress. 

Biden has said he is willing to make significant compromises when it comes to the border in order to get the national security funding package across the finish line. Schumer noted the president reiterated that message in Wednesday's meeting. 

“The president himself said over and over again that he is willing to move forward on border,” Schumer said, insisting the only way to get a package addressing the border and Ukraine done is in a bipartisan manner. 

The statement from the White House added the president is committing to a bipartisan agreement as it relates to the border and is “encouraged” by progress in Senate negotiations.