'Dead on Arrival' Border Bill Leaves Aid for Israel and Ukraine up in the Air

WASHINGTON - Hopes of a bipartisan border bill on Capitol Hill are quickly fading as GOP Senate leadership signals they likely don't have the votes to pass the compromise immigration plan. 

"Senate Republicans have insisted not for months but for years that this urgent crisis demanded action," declared Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on the Senate floor Monday. 

Just hours later, however, McConnell reportedly urged Republican senators to vote "no" on the bill's first procedural vote set for Wednesday.  This comes after weeks of McConnell being in rare agreement with President Biden that immediate solutions are needed at the border.

"We don't have enough agents, we don't have enough folks, we don't have enough judges," Biden told reporters Monday. "We don't have enough folks there, we need help."

The bill, which was endorsed by a union of border patrol workers that supported President Trump's 2016 and 2020 presidential runs, aims to discourage migrants from illegally crossing the southern border.

It includes $20 billion for immigration enforcement, the hiring of thousands of officers, and increased screenings for fentanyl and other drugs. The measure also includes $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, and $10 billion in humanitarian aid for people in Gaza, the West Bank, and Ukraine. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson claims the Senate bill encourages more illegal crossings and is dead on arrival in the House. 

"It would not resolve any of the problems, not reform in any meaningful way, the broken asylum system, the broken parole process, and all the things that created this catastrophe," Johnson told Fox News Monday night.  

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Former President Trump, who has made the border a central issue of his campaign, is urging Republicans not to pass the bill. 

"This is a Democrat trap – it's a trap for Republicans, that would be so stupid, so foolish to sign a bill like this. This bill can't be signed," Trump told Newsmax.  

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), the lead GOP negotiator on the bill, says it's time to get resources in place to control the border. 

"The president has something he's trying to accomplish, he's trying to get elected back to be the president of the United States," explained Lankford. "I've got something I'm trying to accomplish – it's securing the nation and our borders right now. He's got his purposes right now, I've got mine." 

Democratic leaders are also urging swift compromise. 

"We cannot let politics get in the way of passing this legislation," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). "The senators have to drown out the noise of politics and politicians who tell them not to vote for this bill for political purposes. We all know it's the right thing to do."

The battle over the border leaves urgent funding for Ukraine and Israel up in the air. Speaker Johnson says the House will vote on a standalone bill for Israel, which the White House says Biden will veto as he pushes for a broader bill.