President Joe Biden is sending a clear message to Democratic negotiators on Capitol Hill that he is open to striking a compromise with Republicans on border security in order to get talks on funding for Ukraine back on track.
During his impassioned speech in the White House’s Roosevelt Room on Wednesday, Biden said he felt Republicans haven’t been willing to make a deal, though some have since expressed optimism about the direction of negotiations.
“I am willing to make significant compromises on the border. We need to fix the broken border system, it is broken. And thus far, I’ve gotten no response,” he said as he made a fresh appeal to lawmakers, adding that failure to reach a compromise would serve as a “gift” for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But, he added, “This has to be a negotiation.”
“Republicans think they can get everything they want without any bipartisan compromise,” the president said. “That’s not the answer. … And now they’re willing to literally kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield and damage our national security in the process.”
If struck, a deal could end a stalemate that the president said imperils the future of Ukraine’s sovereignty and democracy around the world, while also upheaving US immigration policy, which has served as an intractable issue in Congress for decades.
Acknowledging the country’s immigration system is “broken,” Biden made direct overtures toward Republicans who want policy changes along the border, saying he is willing to do “significantly more” than he has already proposed. He also signaled an openness to changing policy – but was vague on what exact policy changes he would consider.
Some of the changes that the White House has expressed openness to are reminiscent of the Trump-era that previously received fierce pushback from advocate,…
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