"Our negotiators are going to be working very, very diligently
over the December and January break period, and our goal is to
get something done as soon as we get back," Senate Democratic
Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters.
The chamber's No. 2 Republican, John Thune, also said a deal
would not be reached before January. "Democrats have run out the
clock to the point where getting a substantive border security
deal passed before Christmas is impossible," he said on the
Senate floor.
In a joint statement, Schumer and Senate Republican leader Mitch
McConnell said negotiators "are making encouraging progress" but
"challenging issues remain."
The White House has warned that by the end of the year U.S. aid
will run out to help Ukraine retake territory occupied by Russia
since the 2022 invasion.
The Biden administration's request for another $61 billion in
support has been bogged down in Congress, where Republicans say
it must be paired with tougher immigration controls along the
U.S.-Mexico border. Funding for Israel, another element of the
package, is less controversial.
Immigration is one of the most divisive issues in U.S. politics
and bipartisan reform attempts have repeatedly failed over the
past 20 years.
"I cannot state how complex this is. It's the most complicated
area of American law," said Senator Kyrsten Sinema, an
independent involved in the talks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy faced a skeptical
reception from Republicans when he visited Washington last week
to drum up support.
It is not clear that any deal reached in the Democratic-majority
Senate will win support in the Republican-controlled House of
Representatives, where a significant number of party hardliners
oppose providing additional funding to Ukraine.
January also marks the start of the state-by-state Republican
presidential nominating contest and lawmakers will face a
deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown.
(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan and Patricia Zengerle;
Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone, Alistair
Bell, Rosalba O'Brien and Jamie Freed)
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