1 00:00:01,133 --> 00:00:02,666 AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the "NewsHour." 2 00:00:02,666 --> 00:00:05,700 We start with two intertwined and looming issues. High-stakes 3 00:00:05,700 --> 00:00:10,700 negotiations over a possible deal to aid Ukraine and reform the U.S. immigration 4 00:00:12,366 --> 00:00:14,833 system are at risk of collapsing under their own political weight. 5 00:00:14,833 --> 00:00:17,333 Congressional correspondent Lisa Desjardins spent the day 6 00:00:17,333 --> 00:00:20,833 speaking with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. She's here now to explain. 7 00:00:20,833 --> 00:00:21,833 Lisa, good to see you. 8 00:00:21,833 --> 00:00:23,766 LISA DESJARDINS: Good to see you. 9 00:00:23,766 --> 00:00:25,733 AMNA NAWAZ: So bring us up to speed. Where do things stand on Capitol Hill? 10 00:00:25,733 --> 00:00:29,200 LISA DESJARDINS: After these weeks of very urgent and serious talks between lawmakers 11 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:34,166 on Capitol Hill and maybe some less serious sound bites from others not involved in negotiations, 12 00:00:34,166 --> 00:00:39,133 we are now on the edge of a complete failure by our lawmakers to either address the border 13 00:00:41,500 --> 00:00:44,300 security right now or to figure out what they want to do to help or not help our allies in Ukraine. 14 00:00:46,066 --> 00:00:48,233 As you know, we were reporting those two issues have been linked since 15 00:00:48,233 --> 00:00:52,333 President Biden linked them in one bill and Republicans asked for policy changes 16 00:00:52,333 --> 00:00:55,766 at the border before they would support Ukraine funding. So let's look at where 17 00:00:55,766 --> 00:00:59,066 we are in this moment about that idea of linking these two bills. 18 00:00:59,066 --> 00:01:01,800 Right now, negotiators that have been working on trying to get that 19 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:06,533 deal together actually have agreed on policy, I'm told by familiar sources, 20 00:01:06,533 --> 00:01:09,666 but they haven't yet figured out the dollars, how much money goes 21 00:01:09,666 --> 00:01:13,600 where. That's obviously a big problem, but the policy chunk is a huge breakthrough. 22 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:18,600 However, conservatives have increasingly become skeptical on that policy. At the same time, 23 00:01:20,366 --> 00:01:23,133 Leader Mitch McConnell has made it clear today that he ideally would like 24 00:01:23,133 --> 00:01:28,133 a combined deal. However, he has a different problem. President -- former President Trump 25 00:01:29,900 --> 00:01:32,300 opposes the combined deal, especially opposes the border security portion. 26 00:01:32,300 --> 00:01:37,100 And since New Hampshire, McConnell and other Republicans have started referring to Trump 27 00:01:37,100 --> 00:01:42,100 as a potential nominee of their party, and they have said he wants to run on the border issue. 28 00:01:42,100 --> 00:01:46,466 So what we have here is a political problem. Mitch McConnell said that 29 00:01:46,466 --> 00:01:50,100 behind closed doors to his Republicans last night, that no matter what they want, 30 00:01:50,100 --> 00:01:55,066 the politics mean that this kind of deal may not be able to go forward for Republicans. 31 00:01:56,866 --> 00:01:58,833 Meanwhile, what is going forward are those negotiations. The three senators 32 00:01:58,833 --> 00:02:01,700 that have been behind closed doors for weeks now, there they are right there, 33 00:02:01,700 --> 00:02:06,333 one Democrat, an independent and a Republican. They say they will work throughout the weekend 34 00:02:06,333 --> 00:02:11,000 with Democratic Leader Schumer in the Senate, saying he expects them to come up with a deal. 35 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:16,000 Senator Sinema of Arizona said she does expect text on the border policy next week. We will see. 36 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:20,866 AMNA NAWAZ: Take us back to the presidential politics you mentioned there. 37 00:02:20,866 --> 00:02:25,633 How big a factor is that in blocking any potential action for Ukraine or border funding? 38 00:02:25,633 --> 00:02:27,533 LISA DESJARDINS: Well, I will start by saying this deal always 39 00:02:27,533 --> 00:02:29,733 has been precarious, always has been difficult. 40 00:02:29,733 --> 00:02:33,533 It wasn't clear Democrats were going to be all the way on board. But in this moment, 41 00:02:33,533 --> 00:02:38,533 it is presidential politics absolutely that is blocking it and that has really kind of incited 42 00:02:40,566 --> 00:02:43,333 more fear, I think, in Senate Republicans, who might have been on the fence over whether to 43 00:02:43,333 --> 00:02:47,966 try and help some partial solution at the border, maybe not get all what they want, 44 00:02:47,966 --> 00:02:52,900 versus backing off altogether and doing kind of politically more expedient thing. 45 00:02:52,900 --> 00:02:56,833 One of the reasons, of course, former President Trump. I want to show one of the things that he 46 00:02:56,833 --> 00:03:01,733 wrote on social media just in the last day about this deal. He wrote: "I do not think 47 00:03:01,733 --> 00:03:06,733 we should do a border deal at all unless we get everything needed to shut down the invasion." 48 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:10,900 Now, of course, Amna, this is not an invasion at the border. These are groups 49 00:03:10,900 --> 00:03:15,600 of asylum seekers largely, more than half of them family members. But you can see in 50 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:19,333 that tone election year rhetoric that former President Trump will be using. 51 00:03:19,333 --> 00:03:23,400 Now, to respond to this, to make it even more clear, the last person before Trump 52 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:28,133 to be the Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, had something to say today. 53 00:03:28,133 --> 00:03:31,800 SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): The fact that he would communicate to Republican 54 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:35,433 senators and congresspeople that he doesn't want us to solve the border 55 00:03:35,433 --> 00:03:40,433 problem because he wants to blame Biden for it is really appalling. 56 00:03:42,500 --> 00:03:44,466 LISA DESJARDINS: As we speak, I'm told by my sources in the Trump campaign that he is now 57 00:03:44,466 --> 00:03:47,433 responding to Romney directly. It's kind of a blast at Romney, as you would expect. 58 00:03:47,433 --> 00:03:50,666 All of this, also another problem, no one was clear that the House was ever going 59 00:03:50,666 --> 00:03:55,000 to pass this deal. But senators wanted to do something. They still may try. 60 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:57,466 AMNA NAWAZ: What about this critical aid funding. We keep calling it critical aid 61 00:03:57,466 --> 00:03:59,700 funding. We know they have been seeking it since last fall. When 62 00:03:59,700 --> 00:04:03,533 does the inaction to pass funding here start to create more problems there? 63 00:04:03,533 --> 00:04:06,433 LISA DESJARDINS: I want to credit Nick Schifrin for a lot of this reporting as well. 64 00:04:06,433 --> 00:04:10,100 Right now, the U.S. is paying not only for some help, critical weaponry, but 65 00:04:10,100 --> 00:04:15,100 also the Ukraine government to keep financially viable. Four billion dollars is needed for them 66 00:04:17,333 --> 00:04:21,700 routinely to keep the payroll going. The U.S. is paying for teachers, those kinds of things. And, 67 00:04:21,700 --> 00:04:25,900 by the way, if there's not air defense for Ukraine, that will be a game-changer 68 00:04:25,900 --> 00:04:30,900 soon. They will probably not be able to make it as they are coming up quickly. 69 00:04:32,533 --> 00:04:33,900 AMNA NAWAZ: That's our congressional correspondent, Lisa Desjardins, 70 00:04:33,900 --> 00:04:36,033 covering these critical negotiations. 71 00:04:36,033 --> 00:04:36,966 Lisa, thank you. 72 00:04:36,966 --> 00:04:37,600 LISA DESJARDINS: You're welcome.