Senate to return next week in hopes of pre-Christmas border deal

The Senate will return on Monday in the hopes of getting a border deal to unlock aid for Ukraine before Christmas.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) decided on Thursday to keep members in town next week, allowing lawmakers to leave for the weekend, according to Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican. The Senate had been scheduled to adjourn at the end of this week for its holiday recess.

“According to Schumer, yes,” Thune told reporters when asked if the Senate will be back next week. 

The chamber is expected to need more time to finish work, including reauthorization of Federal Aviation Administration funding and a number of nominations, including potential votes on 4-star military promotions that are being held up by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.).

Negotiations have been ongoing for weeks, but only in recent days have administration officials taken a meaningful role in talks. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas met with Senate negotiators and top staffers with the White House and Senate leadership on Tuesday and Wednesday night. 

According to multiple senators close to the talks, they have made progress in recent days. However, Senate Republicans argued there was not enough progress to warrant keeping lawmakers in town past Thursday. 

They said negotiators are still batting around ideas and are not anywhere near drafting legislative text.

“Everything right now is still conceptual,” Thune told reporters earlier on Thursday. “There hasn’t been anything nailed down, agreed upon, let alone reduced to paper.”

“They’re making progress, but … the question is: Is it enough progress? I’m trying to be hopeful but have a hard time seeing that,” he added.

Adding to the Senate’s headaches is that the House adjourned until the new year earlier on Thursday, meaning that any vote in the chamber might not happen until January unless Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) calls members back to vote.

“I think we’re a long way from being able to pass something that matters by the end of the year,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said. “They’re using this to try to put something together. I’m not gonna take the bait. There is no language to even look at.”

“The House is very important to me. Can they do their part?” Graham said. “At this moment a deal by the end of the year is just not remotely possible.”