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☆ Visiting Ukraine, Schumer Aims to Pressure G.O.P. to Take Up Aid Bill
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, is traveling to Ukraine on Friday for a visit meant to show American solidarity with a democratic ally under attack by Russia and increase the pressure on Republicans to drop their opposition to additional U.S. aid. The trip, Mr. Schumer’s first official one to Ukraine, comes at a critical time, as a foreign assistance package that includes more than $60 billion in military aid for Kyiv is stalled on Capitol Hill amid Republican resistance. It amounts to something of a victory lap for Mr. Schumer, the New York Democrat who managed to maneuver the aid bill through the Senate this month with a resoundingly bipartisan vote that came after months of partisan wrangling. But it is also a last-ditch bid to salvage the legislation in the House. Under pressure from right-wing hard-liners hostile to funding Ukraine’s war effort, the Republican speaker, Mike Johnson, has rejected bipartisan entreaties to put it on the floor.

Persons: Chuck Schumer, Schumer’s, Schumer, Mike Johnson Organizations: Capitol, Republican, Mr, New York Democrat Locations: Ukraine, Russia

The United States has informed Congress and its allies in Europe of new intelligence about Russian nuclear capabilities that could pose an international threat, according to officials briefed on the matter. Consequently, it did not pose an urgent threat to the United States, Ukraine or America’s European allies, they said. A current and a former U.S. official said the new intelligence was related to Russia’s attempts to develop a space-based antisatellite nuclear weapon. Current and former officials said the nuclear weapon was not in orbit. Mr. Turner’s statement, and his decision to share the information with others in Congress, set Washington abuzz about what the intelligence was.

Persons: Michael R, Turner, Biden Organizations: ABC News, Republican, House Intelligence, Washington Locations: States, Europe, Russia, United States, Ukraine, U.S, Ohio

☆ House Republicans Try Again to Impeach Mayorkas on Border Charges
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

House Republicans will try on Tuesday for a second time to impeach Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, on charges of willfully refusing to enforce border laws and breaching the public trust, after their first attempt at the partisan indictment ended in a stunning defeat. Three Republicans joined all Democrats last week in rejecting the impeachment charges, leaving the G.O.P., which has a tiny margin, just one vote short of a majority in a humiliating spectacle on the House floor. The decisive moment came when Representative Al Green, Democrat of Texas, who Republicans had counted on missing the vote, arrived in a hospital garb fresh out of abdominal surgery to cast his “no” vote. With Representative Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana and the majority leader, absent while he underwent treatment for blood cancer, the G.O.P. was unable to make up the shortfall.

Persons: Alejandro, Al Green, Steve Scalise Organizations: Republicans, Democrats, Democrat, Republican Locations: Texas, Louisiana

☆ Ukraine Aid Bill Faces Hurdles in the House Amid G.O.P. Opposition
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Catie Edmondson | Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A buzz saw of Republican opposition in the House is threatening to kill the $95 billion aid package for Ukraine and Israel that the Senate overwhelmingly passed early Tuesday, leaving proponents of the emergency aid legislation scrounging for unorthodox ways to push the bill over the finish line. Hours before the Senate approved the bill in a lopsided 70-to-29 vote, Speaker Mike Johnson suggested he would not allow the aid package to receive a vote on the House floor. The measure would provide an additional $60.1 billion for Kyiv — which would bring the total U.S. investment in the war effort to more than $170 billion — as well as $14.1 billion for Israel’s war against Hamas and almost $10 billion for humanitarian aid for civilians in conflict zones, including Palestinians in Gaza. “House Republicans were crystal clear from the very beginning of discussions that any so-called national security supplemental legislation must recognize that national security begins at our own border,” Mr. Johnson said in a statement on Monday night, adding: “In the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters.”Earlier this month, Mr. Johnson rejected a bipartisan border bill crafted in the Senate, saying the crackdown at the U.S.-Mexico border needed to be more severe.

Persons: Mike Johnson, Mr, Johnson Organizations: Kyiv, Hamas, Republicans, Senate Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, “, U.S, Mexico

☆ Senate Pushes Ukraine Aid Bill Toward Passage as G.O.P. Splinters
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A bipartisan coalition of senators on Monday night pushed a $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine and Israel to the brink of passage, as Republicans fractured bitterly over the bill, with opponents threatening to fight it until the very end. On a vote of 66 to 33, the measure cleared its last hurdle before a final vote, with 17 Republicans joining almost all Democrats to help advance it over the full-throated objections of the bulk of G.O.P. senators, Republican leaders in the House and the party’s likely presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump. That put the bill on track to pass the Senate no later than Wednesday. But the measure’s fate was uncertain as Republican foes of the legislation promised to delay Senate passage as long as possible, and as Speaker Mike Johnson suggested he had no intention of bringing it up in the House, where the majority of Republicans have opposed continuing to send aid to Ukraine.

Persons: Donald J, Mike Johnson, Mr, Johnson, ” Organizations: Republicans, Republican, Trump, “, Senate Locations: Ukraine, Israel, G.O.P

☆ Congressman Who Broke With G.O.P. on Mayorkas Vote Will Not Seek Re-election
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | More About Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Representative Mike Gallagher, Republican of Wisconsin, announced on Saturday that he would not run for re-election, just days after breaking with his party to cast a decisive vote against impeachment charges for Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary. Mr. Gallagher, who is in his fourth congressional term, is joining dozens of other lawmakers who have decided to call it quits. But the timing of his decision was striking nonetheless, coming on the heels of his impeachment vote — which had already earned him a primary challenger — and his relative youth, compared with others who are planning to retire from Congress. “Electoral politics was never supposed to be a career and, trust me, Congress is no place to grow old,” Mr. Gallagher, 39, said in a statement, adding that he had made the decision not to run “with a heavy heart.”Mr. Gallagher, a Marine Corps veteran and a former congressional staffer, was an influential voice in the House when it came to matters of national security and the military. He was particularly outspoken about the wars in Afghanistan and Ukraine, as well as cybersecurity, having co-chaired an intergovernmental commission on the issue early in his congressional career.

Persons: Mike Gallagher, Alejandro N, Mr, Gallagher, — Organizations: Republican, Marine Corps Locations: Wisconsin, “, Afghanistan, Ukraine

☆ Senators Work Into Weekend on Ukraine and Israel Bill as G.O.P. Slows Progress
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The long-stalled emergency national security package to send aid to Ukraine and Israel is back on track in the Senate and headed toward passage within days — but not before Republican senators try to take a few partisan shots at the legislation. The senators are slowing progress on the $95 billion measure as they seek votes on proposed revisions, particularly concerning border security — despite having voted this week to kill a version of the bill that included a bipartisan deal to crack down on immigration. The demands amount to an exercise in political face-saving. Republicans said for months that they would never approve funds to help Ukraine fight off a Russian invasion without simultaneously taking significant steps to secure the U.S. border with Mexico. But their decision to kill a proposal to do just that means the aid will move forward without immigration restrictions.

Persons: Donald J, Trump Organizations: Republican Locations: Ukraine, Israel, U.S, Mexico

☆ Ukraine and Israel Aid Bill Stalled in Senate as Divided G.O.P. Demands Changes
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Senators raced on Thursday to revive a sweeping emergency national security aid bill for Ukraine and Israel that has stalled yet again on Capitol Hill amid Republican resistance. Republicans who voted to block the measure on Wednesday were again withholding their support for moving forward with the bill, which includes $60.1 billion for Ukraine, $14.1 billion for Israel and $10 billion in humanitarian aid. They demanded the chance to propose changes, including adding border restrictions — just one day after having blocked a version of the legislation that included a bipartisan package of border restrictions. Feuding over what modifications to seek, Republicans were huddling behind closed doors in the Capitol on Thursday morning to iron out their disputes. The bill would need 60 votes to advance, which would require the support of at least 10 Republicans.

Persons: Chuck Schumer Organizations: Republican, Republicans Locations: Ukraine, Israel, New York

☆ With Border Deal Doomed, Schumer Pushes Republicans Into Vote on Ukraine and Israel Aid
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Annie Karni | Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

But with Mr. Trump’s intervention persuading congressional Republicans to abandon the border deal that they themselves had demanded, Mr. Biden finally has an opportunity to shift from defense to offense. “Joe Biden blamed President Trump for the border crisis that Biden himself created,” said Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the former president. Mr. Trump made clear that he saw the deal not as a solution but a threat to his bid to reclaim his office. Image Mr. Trump ridiculed the idea that Mr. Biden could deflect blame after three years of failing to secure the border. For three years, Republicans had a clear story line when it came to the border — Mr. Biden either intentionally or incompetently opened the floodgates.

Persons: Biden, Donald J, Trump, Biden’s, “, ”, “ I’ll, MAGA, Donald Trump, ” Mr, “ Joe Biden, Karoline Leavitt, Joe Biden, John Moore, impeaching Alejandro, James Lankford, Christopher S, Murphy, Kyrsten Sinema, Don’t, Doug Mills, Geoffrey Garin, ” Margie Omero, Mark S, ” Scott Jennings, Mr, Jennings Organizations: Democratic, White, Trump, MAGA Republicans, MAGA Republican, CBS News, PBS, NPR, Marist, Republican, Democrat, Democrats, Republican Party, Border Patrol, Patrol, New York Times, Republicans, Center for Immigration Studies, Biden, ” Locations: New York, Illinois, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Arizona

☆ Republicans Scrounge for Votes to Impeach Mayorkas Over Border
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But with just hours to go before the planned vote, it was unclear whether leaders would have enough G.O.P. support to charge Mr. Mayorkas. With Republicans in control of the House by a minuscule margin — and Democrats solidly opposed — they can afford no more than two defections. Two of their members have already said they will vote no, with a few others still publicly undecided. Skeptics have privately warned that if the House impeaches Mr. Mayorkas now, making him the first sitting cabinet member to suffer that fate, future Republican cabinet members could be subjected to the same treatment.

Persons: Alejandro, Mayorkas, Tom McClintock, Ken Buck, Ken Buck of Colorado, Mike Gallagher, Wisconsin —, Mr Organizations: Republican Locations: California, Ken Buck of

We don’t have enough judges,” Mr. Biden said on Monday. “Why won’t they give me the help?”A Senate bill introduced over the weekend tries to do just that. But Mr. Biden lifted Title 42 after the pandemic receded, and the legal pathway for using it again would be uncertain without an ongoing public health crisis. Immigration experts said that Mr. Biden probably could have taken some steps without the legislation. Mr. Biden could have done that without the legislation.

Persons: Biden, Donald J, Trump, ” Mr, ”, Ben Johnson, John Moore, Mike Johnson, Mr, Johnson, Biden’s, Trump’s Organizations: House Republicans, United, American Immigration Lawyers Association, “, Migrants, El Paso . Credit Locations: United States, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, El Paso .

☆ Republican-Led House to Vote on Impeaching Mayorkas Over Border
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The House is set to vote on Tuesday on impeaching Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, on charges that he has willfully refused to enforce border laws and breached the public trust, as Republicans pursue a partisan indictment of President Biden’s immigration policies. Republicans are pressing forward despite the assessment of legal experts, including some prominent conservatives, that Mr. Mayorkas has not committed high crimes and misdemeanors, the constitutional threshold for impeachment. given the party’s tiny majority, Mr. Mayorkas would become the only sitting cabinet member to be impeached in American history. House Republican are pushing forward with the impeachment as they work to kill a bipartisan deal that emerged in the Senate pairing a fresh infusion of funding for Ukraine with a border crackdown. They have argued that the measure is too weak and that neither Mr. Biden nor Mr. Mayorkas can be trusted to secure the border.

Persons: Alejandro, Mayorkas, Mr, Biden Organizations: House Republican, Ukraine

☆ Senators Release Border Deal to Unlock Ukraine Aid, but Fate Remains Uncertain
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Senate Republicans and Democrats on Sunday cemented a compromise plan to crack down on unlawful migration across the U.S. border with Mexico and cleared a critical hurdle to an aid package for Ukraine, but the deal faces long odds in a Congress deeply divided over both issues. President Biden implored Congress late last month to pass it, promising to shut down the border immediately once it became law. But Speaker Mike Johnson has pronounced it “dead on arrival” in the Republican-controlled House. And with former President Donald J. Trump actively campaigning against the deal, it was not clear whether the measure could even make it out of the Democratic-led Senate, where it needs bipartisan backing to move forward. Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, has said he plans to put the border and Ukraine package to an initial vote as soon as Wednesday, a critical test of its ability to survive.

Persons: Biden, Mike Johnson, Donald J, Trump, Chuck Schumer Organizations: Republicans, Sunday, Biden, Capitol, Republican, Democratic Locations: U.S, Mexico, Ukraine, New York

☆ House G.O.P. Plans Vote on Israel Aid as Senate Tries to Close Broader Deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Johnson’s announcement to members of his conference came as senators were scrambling to finalize and vote on a bipartisan national security bill that has taken months to negotiate. support for the emerging compromise, which was already flagging under criticism from party leaders like Mr. Johnson and former President Donald J. Trump. Mr. Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has said that the Senate package would be dead on arrival in the House, arguing that its border security measures are not stringent enough to clamp down on a recent surge of immigration. He said the House would instead focus its efforts on the impeachment of Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary — a vote on which is now expected to take place next week. In a letter to his members Saturday, he said the House would also prioritize its own approach to helping Israel’s war effort against Hamas, regardless of what — if any — related legislation the Senate might produce.

Persons: Mike Johnson, Johnson, Donald J, Trump, Alejandro N, — Organizations: Louisiana Republican Locations: Israel, Ukraine, Louisiana

☆ Impeachment Case Against Mayorkas Ignores Government’s Immigration Powers
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

House Republicans’ impeachment case against Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, boils down to a simple allegation: that he has broken the law by refusing to enforce immigration statutes that aim to prevent migrants from entering the United States without authorization. The Homeland Security Committee approved articles of impeachment against Mr. Mayorkas on a party-line vote early Wednesday morning, setting the stage for a vote of the full House next week. Republicans have moved forward with the process even though constitutional scholars, past secretaries of homeland security and even some former legal advisers to former President Donald J. Trump have noted that nothing Mr. Mayorkas is accused of rises to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors, the standard for impeachment laid out in the Constitution. argues that the secretary’s failure to uphold certain aspects of immigration law is itself a constitutional crime. But in the United States, the president and his administration have wide latitude to control the border, and Mr. Mayorkas has not exceeded those authorities.

Persons: Alejandro N, Mayorkas, Donald J, Trump Organizations: Homeland Security, Republicans Locations: United States

☆ House Panel Poised to Approve Impeachment Charges Against Mayorkas
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The House Homeland Security Committee is expected to approve articles of impeachment on Tuesday against Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, as Republicans race forward with a partisan indictment of President Biden’s immigration policies. In what is expected to be a party-line vote, the panel is poised to charge Mr. Mayorkas with refusing to uphold the law and breaching the public trust in his handling of a surge of migrants across the United States border with Mexico, paving the way for a vote of the full House as early as next week. Republicans are pressing forward despite staunch opposition from Democrats and an emerging consensus among legal scholars that they have produced no evidence that the secretary has committed high crimes and misdemeanors, the standard for impeachment. The charges are all but certain to collapse in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where a two-thirds majority would be required to convict and remove Mr. Mayorkas. But if they pass the House, they will force an election-year trial in which Republicans will have the chance to air their indictment of Mr. Biden’s immigration policies.

Persons: Alejandro N, Mayorkas, Mr Organizations: Homeland Security, Democrats, Democratic, Republicans Locations: United States, Mexico

☆ House Republicans Release Impeachment Charges Against Mayorkas
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Leaders of the House Homeland Security Committee laid out their case against Mr. Mayorkas ahead of a Tuesday meeting to approve the charges, paving the way for a quick House vote as soon as early next month to impeach him. It would be the culmination of Republicans’ attacks on Mr. Biden’s immigration policies and an extraordinary move given an emerging consensus among legal scholars that Mr. Mayorkas’s actions do not constitute high crimes and misdemeanors. The push comes as House Republicans, egged on by former President Donald J. Trump, dig in against a bipartisan border compromise Mr. Mayorkas helped to negotiate with a group of senators, which Mr. Biden has vowed to sign. lawmakers have dismissed the agreement as too weak and argued that they cannot trust Mr. Biden to crack down on migration now when he has failed to in the past. The charges against Mr. Mayorkas, should they be approved by full the House, are all but certain to fizzle in the Democratic-led Senate, where Mr. Mayorkas would stand trial and a two-thirds majority would be needed to convict and remove him.

Persons: Alejandro N, Biden’s, Mayorkas, ’, Donald J, Trump, Biden, G.O.P Organizations: Sunday, House Homeland Security, House Republicans, Democratic Locations: U.S, Mexico

☆ Johnson Digs In Against Border Deal as Negotiators Try to Salvage It
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Speaker Mike Johnson sought on Friday to choke off the last remaining glimmers of hope for a bipartisan immigration compromise to emerge from Congress this year, repeating that a deal under discussion in the Senate would almost certainly be “dead on arrival” in the Republican-led House. Mr. Johnson’s statement, in a letter to House G.O.P. lawmakers, came after the top Senate Republican conceded this week that the opposition of former President Donald J. Trump had made the proposed border agreement politically difficult for the party to embrace, effectively killing its chances. “If rumors about the contents of the draft proposal are true, it would have been dead on arrival in the House anyway,” Mr. Johnson wrote. As the immigration plan teeters, the fate of additional aid for Ukraine also hangs in the balance, with hard-right House Republicans also dug in against it and threatening to depose Mr. Johnson if he seeks to push it through over their objections.

Persons: Mike Johnson, G.O.P, Donald J, Trump, Mr, Johnson Organizations: Republican, Republicans Locations: Ukraine

☆ With Border Deal Near, Parole and Money Take Center Stage in Senate Talks
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Much of the recent haggling over the emerging agreement — and a point of contention for its critics — has been about how to limit the number of people who are granted parole, a status that allows migrants without visas to live and work in the United States temporarily. considers parole a dangerous loophole that fuels illegal immigration and must be tightly closed. To many Democrats, it is a crucial tool that allows the administration to treat desperate migrants humanely, which must be preserved, particularly for vulnerable populations fleeing failing states and war. Bridging the gap will likely hinge on the two sides agreeing on how much federal money to spend to try to decrease net immigration numbers, and persuading Republicans that the deal’s measures will be effective. On Monday, Senate leaders warned that getting a final deal depended on resolving those remaining differences.

Persons: — Organizations: Republicans Locations: United States, Mexico, Ukraine

☆ With Deal Close on Border and Ukraine, Republican Rifts Threaten to Kill Both
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Annie Karni | Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Absolutely NOT,” his message said, adding, “This is the hill I’ll die on.”The Republican disconnect explains why, with an elusive bipartisan bargain on immigration seemingly as close as it has been in years on Capitol Hill, the prospects for enactment are grim. It is also why hopes for breaking the logjam over sending more U.S. aid to Ukraine are likely to be dashed by hard-line House Republicans. The situation encapsulates the divide cleaving the Republican Party. On one side are the right-wing MAGA allies of former President Donald J. Trump, an America First isolationist who instituted draconian immigration policies while in office. On the other is a dwindling group of more mainstream traditionalists who believe the United States should play an assertive role defending democracy on the world stage.

Persons: James Lankford, Mike Johnson, MAGA, Donald J, Trump Organizations: Oklahoma Republican, Senate Democrats, White, Democratic, Capitol, Republicans, Republican Party Locations: Ukraine, America, United States

☆ House Republicans Announce Hunter Biden Deposition in Impeachment Inquiry
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | More About Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

House Republicans said on Thursday that they had set a deposition date of Feb. 28 to interview Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son, their latest bid to secure his cooperation in their impeachment inquiry after he refused an earlier subpoena to testify privately. The announcement by Representatives James R. Comer of Kentucky, the chairman of the Oversight Committee, and Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, came on the day when the House had initially been scheduled to vote to hold the younger Mr. Biden in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a previous subpoena. “His deposition will come after several interviews with Biden family members and associates,” Mr. Comer and Mr. Jordan said in a joint statement. “We look forward to Hunter Biden’s testimony.”Mr. Biden and the two committees have been at odds over the terms of his testimony for the last several weeks. The panels initially subpoenaed him to testify in November, weeks before the full House voted to authorize an impeachment investigation into the president.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Biden’s, James R, Comer, Jim Jordan of, Biden, ” Mr, Jordan, Hunter Biden’s Organizations: Republicans, Committee Locations: Comer of Kentucky, Jim Jordan of Ohio

☆ House G.O.P. Winds Down Mayorkas Impeachment Without His Public Testimony
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

House Republicans wrapped up impeachment hearings against Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, on Thursday, a little more than a week after the proceedings began, racing to charge him with failing to enforce the nation’s immigration laws. The Republicans are moving ahead without evidence that Mr. Mayorkas has committed high crimes or misdemeanors, the constitutional standard for impeachment, effectively seeking to remove him for immigration policies they argue have imperiled the American public. They plan to bring charges against Mr. Mayorkas as early as the end of this month, without having featured testimony from him or any other witness from the Biden administration to publicly answer for his conduct, or a single constitutional expert to support their argument that he is guilty of impeachable offenses. Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee invited the secretary to testify at Thursday’s hearing, but when Mr. Mayorkas asked for a different date, they told him instead to submit a written statement by Jan. 28.

Persons: Alejandro N, Mayorkas, Biden, Jan Organizations: Republicans, House Homeland Security

☆ Johnson Digs In Against Border Deal to Unlock Ukraine Aid, Defying Biden
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday threw cold water on the idea of striking an immigration deal with Democrats that could revive stalled legislation to send aid to Ukraine, hours before a meeting in which President Biden planned to make a renewed push for the plan. “I don’t think now is the time for comprehensive immigration reform because we know how complicated that is,” Mr. Johnson said Wednesday morning ahead of an afternoon meeting at the White House. Mr. Biden has summoned Mr. Johnson and other congressional leaders as well as the top-ranking national security committee lawmakers in Congress, in an urgent bid to break a monthslong logjam over military assistance for Ukraine and the border security policies Republicans have insisted are a requirement for the aid. “I’m going to tell the president what I’m telling all of you, what we’ve told the American people: border, border, border,” Mr. Johnson said. “We have to secure our own border before we talk about doing anything else.

Persons: Mike Johnson, Biden, ” Mr, Johnson, Mr, “ I’m, we’ve, “, I’ve, ” Organizations: Wednesday, White, Republicans Locations: Ukraine

☆ Senate to Vote on Forcing Human Rights Report as a Condition for Israel Aid
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

More than 100 days later, that consensus on Capitol Hill shows signs of fraying, as left-wing Democrats alarmed by the rising human toll of the war in Gaza press to limit aid to Israel or impose strict conditions on it. The effort has divided Democrats and spurred an intensive lobbying countereffort by pro-Israel groups. It will reach a peak on Tuesday, when the Senate votes on a resolution that would freeze all U.S. security aid to Israel unless the State Department produces a report within 30 days examining whether the country committed human rights violations in its conduct of the war. If the Biden administration misses the deadline, the aid would be restored once Congress receives the report, or takes separate votes to ensure the assistance continues uninterrupted. “That with American military aid, children are starving to death, is to me — I mean, I just don’t know what adjectives I can use.

Persons: Biden, Bernie Sanders, Israel, Mr, Sanders, ” Organizations: Hamas, Israel, Capitol Hill, State Department, Republicans, Senate Locations: United States, Gaza, Israel, Vermont, United

The U.S. government is making an intense effort to persuade Israel and Hamas to resume negotiations so they can once again pause hostilities and exchange more prisoners for hostages, a White House spokesman said on Sunday. Israel has since resumed its assault on Hamas, and Mr. Kirby urged it to avoid civilian casualties, while crediting its forces with making efforts to do so. “He’s so naïve; I mean I just lost all confidence in this guy,” Mr. Graham said. “I would go to Iran and say listen, you need to tell Hamas to let these hostages go,” he said. “We should have conditions on military aid in the same way that we do for every other country.”While the White House blamed Hamas for the breakdown in hostage talks, Ms. Jayapal faulted Israel.

Persons: Israel, “, John F, ”, Kirby, There’s, Biden, Biden’s, Lindsey Graham, Lloyd J, Austin III, Austin, ” Mr, Graham, Mr, Al Qaeda, Pramila Jayapal, Jayapal Organizations: Kirby, White House National Security Council, Press, Hamas, Republican, West Bank, CNN’s, Union, “ Locations: Gaza, Israel, South Carolina, CNN’s “ State, Iraq, Al, we’d, Iran, Washington, United States, Qatar, Persian, “ Israel

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