Washington (AFP) - Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday he hoped to reach an agreement soon with Republicans who are set against providing more US military aid to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Congress and the White House the day before to make a bid for Republicans to accept a $61 billion package presented by Democratic President Joe Biden to help Ukraine keep fighting the Russian invasion.
Both Zelensky and the White House warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin could win the war if Ukraine's top backer does not keep providing it with weapons and ammunition.
Republican lawmakers are demanding concessions from the White House on immigration and security along the border with Mexico -- some of the most intractable issues in American politics -- as the price for lifting their opposition to the new aid package.
"Negotiations continue today between Democrats, Republicans and the Biden administration," Schumer said, adding that "real progress" had been made in talks Tuesday afternoon.
"I hope we can reach an agreement soon to pass a supplemental through the Senate," Schumer said on the Senate floor, referring to the aid package.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also said she was "encouraged" by the "progress" made in the negotiations.
Not everyone is pleased with the idea of toughening US immigration policy, however.
A demonstration was organized in front of Congress on Wednesday afternoon, with several progressive elected representatives and members of outside advocacy groups holding up signs reading "Save asylum."
"The administration's search for a quick fix at the border is becoming increasingly quixotic," said the powerful American Civil Liberties Union.
Time is a factor as Congress is scheduled to go into a year's end holiday recess on Friday, although in theory lawmakers could be recalled from their home districts if a deal is reached requiring their vote.
The top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, who is generally a big supporter of aid to Ukraine, also tried to sound upbeat on Wednesday.
"I'm hopeful we can reach an agreement," he said.
Any agreement would also have to be passed by the House of Representatives, where the new Republican speaker, Mike Johnson, is skeptical about prospects for a deal.
"What the Biden administration seems to be asking for is billions of additional dollars with no appropriate oversight, no clear strategy to win, and none of the answers that I think the American people are owed," Johnson said Tuesday after meeting with Zelensky.
