Republicans say Zelensky visit won’t change GOP demands on immigration

Senators are growing increasingly pessimistic that they will strike a year-end deal on immigration in order to greenlight aid to Ukraine — with Republicans saying that a high-profile Tuesday visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will do nothing to change their demands that US border policy be dealt with first.

“Again, we have a responsibility to the United States of America,” said Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, the lead GOP negotiator on immigration policy. “That would mean me going back to my state and saying I care about people in other countries, but I don’t care about what’s happening in my own country. It’s important that we actually do two things at once here. And we’re the United States of America, it’s not that we look at other nations and ‘Oh gosh, they’re really in trouble, but we’re gonna ignore our own needs as well.’ We’ve gotta actually pay attention to our own needs while we’re also dealing with the needs around the world as well.”

Zelensky is slated to meet with senators on Tuesday, as well as hold a one-on-one meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson, before meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House.

Lankford added that there’s “no way to get (a deal) done this week,” but said that the “big question” is if the Senate sticks around next week to continue negotiations – or goes home for Christmas. Both chambers of Congress are currently slated to leave town at the end of this week and not return until January.

Democrats and Republicans remain far apart in their closed-door talks.

“No, no,” Lankford said when asked if he’d be willing to punt on immigration until next year in the face of Zelenksy urging Congress to approve Ukraine aid immediately.

Asked if he expected the talks to go into 2024, Lankford said: “I’d love to be able to see it resolved sooner than that, but if we can’t get to a resolution on that, this will actually go into 2024 until we can actually get it resolved.”

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, a member of Senate GOP leadership, called efforts to pass an aid package for Ukraine and Israel, tied to immigration, “a January exercise,” as 2023 winds down.

GOP Sen. John Thune of South Dakota said, “I don’t think it’s him or Ukraine,” when asked if Zelensky’s visit could move talks forward.

“I think it’s the border and Democrats and the White House,” Thune said, adding, “Obviously, we want to hear from him about how they’re going to succeed.”

Leaving Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said that the administration has become engaged more in their negotiations with Senate Republicans over immigration policy.

“The White House has become more involved in these discussions, as is necessary when you get closer to the finish line,” he said. “You know, this isn’t gun policy. This is immigration policy, which is ten times more complicated, so we need the White House involvement, as we’re starting to shape real world proposals.”

However, Murphy admitted that he had not spoken directly to Johnson recently.

Despite considerable disagreements between the two sides on asylum and parole policies, Murphy still said, “It’s possible we can get an agreement,” but refused to say when that could happen. “I’m going to stop making predictions on timing because, you know, I’ve been wrong every time,” he said.

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa added that she wants to hear Zelensky tell senators on Tuesday how Ukraine can win the war with Russia, and insisted that border policy will be included in any package they pass.

“I would love to hear how they intend to win this war, and what are those articles that he needs from the United States to do so,” Ernst said.

CNN’s Lauren Fox contributed to this report.

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