A bipartisan $118 billion US Senate bill to tighten border security and provide aid to allies Ukraine and Israel appeared headed to the scrap heap on Wednesday after Republicans egged on by Donald Trump turned against the idea.
The measure was the product of months of negotiation led by senators Chris Murphy, a Democrat, James Lankford, a Republican and Kyrsten Sinema, an independent. If passed, it would have represented the biggest shift in US immigration policy in decades.
Talks intensified in the fall after Democratic President Joe Biden asked Congress for $60 billion in aid for Ukraine as it fights off a Russian invasion and $14 billion for Israel in its war with Hamas. Congressional Republicans said they would agree to such spending only if it was coupled with a plan to address the massive numbers of migrants arriving at the border.
