Senate deal on border security and Ukraine aid faces defeat as Republicans ready to block bill

By STEPHEN GROVES and MARY CLARE JALONICK
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan Senate deal intended to curb illegal crossings at the U.S. border with Mexico is facing almost certain defeat as Senate Republicans signaled their opposition. It leaves President Joe Biden with no clear way to advance aid for Ukraine through Congress. The Democratic president has urged lawmakers to embrace a bipartisan Senate deal that pairs border enforcement measures with $60 billion in wartime aid for Ukraine, as well as tens of billions of dollars more for Israel, other U.S. allies in Asia, the U.S. immigration system and humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza and Ukraine. But Biden and the Senate’s top Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and top Republican, Sen. Mitch McConnell, have run into a wall of opposition from conservatives.