Senate bill funding the U.S. border and foreign security struggles to gain support

About 20 Republican senators as of Tuesday afternoon had issued statements against legislation to increase funding for the southern U.S. border and send more aid to Ukraine and Israel. Senator James Lankford, R-Okla., personally has supported the bill but said Tuesday he didn’t expect the bill would advance through a procedural vote Wednesday. He said his fellow Republicans don’t support the bill because they have not had time to review it. The text of the proposal was released on Sunday.

What’s in the proposal? The proposal includes roughly $20 billion in funding to hire workers to process asylum requests and Border Patrol agents to secure the border. It also includes roughly $14 billion in aid to Israel and roughly $60 billion in aid to Ukraine. Last month, the Department of Defense said it had run out of money to send Ukraine, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urged U.S. allies to continue assisting Kyiv in its fight against Russia.

Why are Senators pushing back on the bill? GOP senators said they would like more time to review the bill, and some have objected to its policies. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas., described the bill as “an utter disaster.” Democrat senators are also criticizing the legislation. Senator Bob Menendez, D-N.J., called the bill “unacceptable.” Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., also said the proposal “misses the mark.” The deal received praise from President Joe Biden and criticism from House Republicans soon after the Senate Appropriations Committee released it. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., described the bill as “dead on arrival” if it reached the House.

Dig deeper: Read Leo Briceno’s report in The Stew about the proposal.