Outlook had appeared grim following reports McConnell was walking away, but now lawmakers say text could be released in coming days
Congressional negotiators said a border deal was within reach on Thursday, despite efforts by Donald Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill to derail the talks.
With the fate of US aid for Ukraine hanging in the balance, the outlook for border compromise had appeared grim following reports on Wednesday night that the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, was walking away from a compromise that he suggested could “undermine” Trump’s chances in a November general election against Joe Biden. But by Thursday afternoon, senators involved in the discussions were insisting that the opposite was true: an agreement was in sight and legislative text could be released in the coming days.
According to a report in Punchbowl News, McConnell told Republicans in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday night that the “politics on this have changed”. With Trump as their likely standard bearer, McConnell reportedly indicated that it would be unwise to move forward with a bipartisan immigration deal that could possibly neutralize an issue that has become one of Biden’s biggest potential vulnerabilities. Referring to Trump as the party’s “nominee”, McConnell added: “We don’t want to do anything to undermine him.”
“That’s like parallel universe shit,” Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican of North Carolina involved in the negotiations, fumed to reporters on Thursday. “That didn’t happen.”
It would amount to a surprising about-face for McConnell, a strong supporter of sending aid to Ukraine and no friend of the former president, who has leveled racist broadsides against McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, and mercilessly disparaged the Republican leader as an “old crow”.
At the Capitol on Thursday, McConnell told Bloomberg News that the immigration talks were “ongoing”. Later McConnell reportedly assured his confused conference that he was “fully onboard” with the negotiations, and brushed aside reports that suggested otherwise.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/25/congress-mexico-border-ukraine-israel-aid-mcconnell