Congressional leaders left their meeting with President Joe Biden cautiously optimistic that a government shutdown would be avoided, with the Democrats saying they felt hopeful about funding for Ukraine.
Biden opened the meeting by saying there was work to do and mentioned the need for Ukraine and Israel funding specifically. Republicans, by contrast, are still pushing for more solutions to illegal immigration before funding wars in international areas.
Leaving the White House, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he was more hopeful about getting funding for Ukraine, saying House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has run out of options for tying Ukraine funding to a southern border deal.
“[Johnson] can’t say they won’t do Ukraine until we get border,” Schumer said. “He’s tried to do border for six months and couldn’t come up with a single Democratic vote.”
Schumer warned that Ukraine was “likely to lose the war” without more support from the U.S.
“We said to the speaker, ‘Get it done,’” Schumer said, in a meeting he described as one of the most intense he’d ever had inside the Oval Office.
Schumer also predicted Congress would “need some CRs,” meaning continuing resolutions, in order to keep the government open beyond March 1, and said Johnson made clear that he wants to avoid any shutdown.
Johnson, who had his own one-on-one with the president, said he was also interested in helping Ukraine but stressed again the need to secure the southern border.
“We will address [Ukraine] in a timely manner,” Johnson said. “But again, the first priority of the country is our border and making sure it’s secure.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said his party agrees, with some caveats.
“As Democrats, we support a safe, a strong, and a humane border,” Jeffries said. “We just need our House Republican colleagues not to play politics and engage in political stunts relative to the border.”
The now-familiar scenario of a looming shutdown comes as the House is still on recess until Wednesday, meaning there will be just two days once members return to get legislation passed and raising the possibility of another continuing resolution to extend the deadline.
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Funding for the departments of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs would run out at the end of the week. Most other government agencies will see funding expire next week if Congress fails to act.
The standoff marks the fourth time since October that Congress has faced a government funding deadline.