Bipartisan Border Security Bill Could Unlock Biden's USD$106B Supplemental

Republican Senator James Lankford (R-OK) is reportedly engaged in discussions with Senate Democrats on a bipartisan border security deal which could help unlock GOP Senate support for President Biden’s USD$106 billion national security supplemental funding request.

• Centrist Democrat Senator Jon Tester (R-MT) told Semafor: “I certainly wouldn’t write it off, but it’s gotta be reasonable policy.”
• Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) said: “I think maybe this is a magic moment. If I were President Biden, I’d say the mean old Republicans made me do this and he’d take one of his biggest political liabilities off the table.”
• A mainstream view on Capitol Hill is that if the Senate can pass Biden’s supplemental request it would force House Republican leadership to bring the entire package up for a vote. That may reduce the risk of a clash between the House and Senate for the inclusion of Ukraine aid in a Continuing Resolution to avert a government shutdown on November 17.
• Punchbowl News reports that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) appears to have softened his position on Ukraine: “After voting against assistance for Kyiv in September, Johnson is now privately telling people he is in favor of sending more cash to the Ukrainians.”
• Johnson's decision to bifurcate Biden's supplemental request positions him deeply at odds with the Senate and White House but a softer line appears to provide a pathway for Ukraine aid.