Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) on Monday teed up the first procedural vote on President Biden’s $106 billion supplemental package to send aid to Ukraine, Israel, Indo-Pacific countries and for humanitarian purposes in Gaza. Leader Schumer set up the planned cloture vote on a shell bill, which is slated to take place Wednesday or Thursday. He said moving forward on the measure is necessary as Ukraine is running out of resources needed to continue its war against the Russian invasion even as Republicans have said that they will vote against proceeding on the supplemental bill if there is no border component attached. The GOP says a border deal is paramount to winning their support for the bill as it will not get across the finish line in the House without it. Talks have centered on curtailing asylum and parole claims, but progressives have pushed back in recent weeks over what they viewed as Democrats giving up too many concessions in talks. On the other side of the aisle, conservatives have been vocal that H.R. 2, the GOP’s hardline border security bill, should be the basis of discussions, which Democrats consider to be a non-starter. In a letter to the White House sent today, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said he would not support further military aid to Ukraine unless the White House agrees to tighten border security. While Johnson does not specify which policies he wants to see enacted, he refers to the Secure the Border Act, H.R. 2, which would require construction of a wall on the border with Mexico first proposed by President Donald Trump to be restarted, and limit the ability of asylum seekers to stay in the United States – all proposals Democrats and the Biden administration oppose. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy was slated to virtually brief Senators at 3:00 P.M. but was not able to attend the scheduled briefing at the last minute.
For today, the Senate will continue its work on nominations including the Motion to invoke cloture on the nomination of Loren L. AliKhan to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia and the nomination of Elizabeth H. Richard, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career Minister, to be Coordinator for Counterterrorism, with the rank and status of Ambassador at Large.
The House is expected to take up a number of bills under suspension of the Rules including: H.R. 1547 – One Seat Ride Act, H.R. 3848 – HOME Act, H.R. 542 – Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act and H. Res. 894 – Strongly condemning and denouncing the drastic rise of antisemitism in the United States and around the world.
