House Speaker Johnson is insisting on sweeping border security changes in a deal for Ukraine aid

By STEPHEN GROVES and LISA MASCARO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson tells fellow Republicans that sweeping changes to U.S. border policy will be their “hill to die on” in negotiations over President Joe Biden’s nearly $106 billion package for the wars in Ukraine and Israel and other security needs. Johnson delivered the hard-line message Tuesday morning ahead of classified briefings the Biden administration organized to underscore how desperately the aid is needed. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was scheduled to address senators via video but had to cancel his appearance. The president is pushing a reluctant Congress to approve the military, economic and humanitarian aid package. But the injection of border security into the negotiations has made progress difficult.