Johnson maintains hardline border position following White House meeting

Speaker Mike Johnson indicated that his position on a border deal has not changed after a Wednesday meeting with President Joe Biden and other congressional leaders about an immigration agreement that could unlock stalled aid for Ukraine.

“We must have change at the border,” Johnson said. He added that House Republicans “understand the necessity about Ukraine funding” but that the “status quo is unacceptable.”

Johnson said he delivered that message directly to Biden, a signal that the Louisiana Republican is maintaining his hardline position on tying Ukraine funding to tough border restrictions. During the meeting, Biden aligned with Republicans and Democrats who say major changes are needed at the border.

“The border is broken, and President Biden said he knows that, and he wants to make significant change on the border,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Johnson also said he was not wedded to the name of any bill being included in a border-Ukraine deal — a nod to the fact that many House Republicans, including himself, want the final text to closely parallel the conservative border legislation known as H.R. 2. Instead, Johnson simply said the elements in any deal “have to be meaningful.”

Those remarks left it somewhat unclear whether Johnson was willing to show flexibility on the House-passed border bill or whether he’s keeping his past position that it’s H.R 2 or bust. He declined to answer a specific question about that as he arrived back at the Capitol.

Inside the room at the White House, Johnson “never insisted on H.R. 2,” said Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), who added that the speaker did defend specific provisions in that bill.

Johnson said “we need to see the numbers coming across go down. And there was sort of unanimity amongst the Republicans on how important that is,” Himes said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he doesn’t “ever like to be in the position of advising a speaker on how to get something passed in the House, but reiterated that divided government is a better opportunity for changes at the border,” according to Himes.

Neither Schumer nor McConnell would weigh in on Johnson’s position, which is the biggest question mark among congressional leaders as the Senate nears a proposed agreement. McConnell, Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries support ongoing Senate negotiations with the Biden administration that would fall far short of the House-passed bill.

President Joe Biden convened the meeting to stress the “urgent need” to approve additional funding for Ukraine, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday.

Gathering in the Cabinet Room of the White House, congressional and committee leaders met with White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, senior Biden adviser Steve Ricchetti, director of legislative affairs Shuwanza Goff, director of national intelligence Avril Haines, Office of Management and Budget director Shalanda Young and principal deputy national security adviser Jon Finer.

Other lawmakers left the meeting feeling good about the prospects for a deal but wondered aloud how long the confidence would last.

“You can feel over-optimistic when you’re in the comfort of the Cabinet Room being served tea and coffee, but I and many others walked out pretty optimistic,” Himes said.

Some Republicans in the meeting expressed a preference for tackling Ukraine funding after the border, Schumer said, but most other attendees wanted to do them together. McConnell said afterward that negotiators have been “talking about it for a very long time. It’s time to try to act.”

“You can do both. We can walk and chew gum at the same time. I think the issue is … the details,” said Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas).