Biden Willing to 'Compromise' After Republicans Block Ukraine, Israel Aid

Facts

• US Pres. Joe Biden has said he's willing to make 'significant compromises' on the country's border policies, after the issue became a key stumbling block for advancing his roughly $100B national security package in Congress this week. The funding request includes allocations for securing America's southern border with Mexico, military aid for Israel and Ukraine, and funds for humanitarian aid.¹
• Before the package went to a Senate vote on Wednesday, Biden reiterated that the potential failure of the proposal would have disastrous consequences for Ukraine, adding that it would be a 'gift' to Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin.'If Putin takes Ukraine, he won’t stop there,' Biden said, claiming Russia would subsequently attack a NATO country resulting in: 'American troops fighting Russian troops.'²
• Nonetheless, the bill failed to reach the 60 vote threshold needed after all 49 Republican Senators voted in opposition. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) also voted against the bill. With the death toll in Gaza exceeding 15K civilians, Sanders has called for placing certain conditions on America's military aid to Israel.²
• Speaking after the vote, Biden said: 'Republicans think they can get everything they want without any bipartisan compromise. That’s not the answer. And now they’re willing to literally kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield and damage our national security in the process.'³
• However, he also stated his willingness to 'make significant compromises on the border,' saying: 'We need to fix the broken border system.'³
• Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), who has led Republican negotiations on seeking to impose greater border controls, said he was encouraged by what he heard, stating that it seemed like the president is 'ready to be able to sit down and talk.' With only a few days left until Congress breaks until next year, Senators of both parties acknowledged that they will need to move quickly if a deal of any sort is to be agreed.⁴

Sources: ¹CNN, ²Al Jazeera, ³The Hill and ⁴France 24.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by CNN. Biden has demonstrated that he's willing to make serious compromises in order to pass this hugely important aid package for Ukraine. However, Republicans must now do the same. If they continue to take a hardline approach, it will kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield and degrade America's national security. This bill must be passed as soon as possible.
• Republican narrative, as provided by Deseret News. Republicans want this bill to pass just as much as Democrats do. However, a key caveat is that the crisis at the southern border has to be addressed. Figures show that roughly 10K people are illegally entering the US each and every day — that's nearly 3.7M people a year. Democrats must take this issue more seriously so that talks on the spending package can proceed.

Predictions