Sen. Mitt Romney urges Senate Democrats to deal with the border crisis

A group of bipartisan negotiators have been at work to strike a deal to fund foreign aid as well as border security measures. But their efforts have yet to bear fruit as both parties have failed to come to a consensus.

Some Republicans in the Senate say they will support funding for Ukraine if Democrats back tougher immigration policies. That is something that the Progressive and Hispanic caucuses say they will oppose, as Politico reported. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Republicans of “hostage taking.”

This disagreement played out when the funding bill without the border measures was introduced on the Senate floor Wednesday. All of the GOP lawmakers voted against it.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, expressed his frustration over the ineffective negotiations on Wednesday, telling reporters Democratic leadership knows Republicans will not be in favor of the supplemental funding until Democrats are willing to address the border crisis.

“And the second issue is the substance, which is we’re seeing 10,000 people a day let into the United States — 10,000 a day. That’s about 3.7 million a year. That’s larger than the population of a lot of states,” Romney told reporters at the Capitol Wednesday, according to his spokesperson. For reference, Utah’s population is 3.3 million.

“That can’t go on,” Romney added.

He said he supports aid for Ukraine and Israel but recognizes that the “Republican House of Representatives will not get funding for Ukraine and Israel unless the border is secure.”

“That’s the reality,” Romney said.

After the vote Wednesday, President Joe Biden alleged Republicans were engaged in “political blackmail” in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. To this, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, replied, “You’re ignoring the national-security crisis you’ve willfully created by refusing to enforce our southern border.”

“Then you’re telling us you won’t lift a finger to do anything about it — to secure OUR country — unless we send $61.5 billion to Ukraine,” the senior Utah senator added. “Who’s blackmailing whom?”

The White House said it doesn’t regret lumping foreign aid with funding for the border in the supplemental funding request. National security spokesman John Kirby said Thursday all parts of the request “were of an urgent nature,” especially the assistance to Ukraine.

“If we walk away and Putin takes Ukraine, he won’t stop there. It’s time for Congress to fund our critical national security priorities,” Kirby said in a separate statement on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., presented Senate Democrats with a new counteroffer as negotiations continue, with the White House looped in, according to Punchbowl News. The Senate is in session next week before it breaks for its holiday recess, putting pressure on lawmakers to find a middle ground.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., wrote a letter to Senate leaders Thursday, insisting on the need to prioritize bipartisan border security measures. “Let’s be clear, the status quo is not working regardless of what side you are on,” he said.

Tester added, “Unfortunately, some in Washington, D.C., do not want to be a part of the solution. They would rather block progress in order to get more media attention and campaign contributions.”

The Montana senator said he spoke to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle about policy changes, which leaves him certain that a solution to the American asylum and immigration system can be found.

Of course, not all Democrats are on the same page as Tester. On the Senate floor Thursday, Schumer firmly laid out his party's position as he asked GOP colleagues to “stop the game-playing.”

“We Democrats very much — very much — want an agreement,” the Senate majority leader said. “We are willing to make compromises and concessions to meet our Republican colleagues, as long as they are willing to do the same.”