U.S. lawmakers are leaving open the possibility of reaching a deal on aid to Ukraine before leaving town for the holidays next week.
Senators continued negotiations Thursday afternoon over the White House’s $106 billion national security supplemental request, which includes $60 billion in military and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine.
Republican senators have put forward their own proposal for border security funding and changes to U.S. immigration law in return for their votes authorizing a new round of aid to Ukraine.
The Senate was scheduled Thursday to go out of session for the remainder of the year. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to announce the chamber will break for the weekend and return to work on negotiations on Monday.
The Republican-majority House of Representatives, where conservative members are skeptical of sending aid to Ukraine, was also scheduled to go out of session on Thursday for the rest of the year. Members completed their votes for the week but could be called back to Washington to vote if the Senate reaches a deal.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has previously said he intends to follow the schedule, allowing members to break for the holidays through their return on January 9.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin told reporters Thursday morning that is he is hopeful an agreement can be reached.
“I think that the majority of Democrats and the majority of Republicans want to pass a supplemental bill and are prepared to include in that border security issues, because we recognize we have a crisis at the border,” he said.
