Republicans want to pair border security with aid for Ukraine. Here’s why that makes a deal so tough

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and STEPHEN GROVES
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress return to work this week after the holiday break, and Senate Republicans have made clear they won’t support additional war aid for Ukraine unless they can pair it with border security measures. That demand has injected one of the most contentious issues in American politics into a foreign policy debate that was already difficult. A small, bipartisan group of senators is trying to find a compromise that could win the necessary 60 votes in the Senate. But even if senators can find agreement, there’s no guarantee it would pass the Republican-controlled House. Republicans hope that Democrats will feel political pressure after illegal crossings topped a daily average of more than 8,000 earlier this fall.