Senate to Vote on Border Deal Next Week, Says Sen. Schumer

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday text on a controversial border security bill, which also includes aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, will be released this weekend, with a vote expected to be taken next week.

“I want members to be aware that we plan to post the full text of the national security supplemental as early as [Friday], no later than Sunday,” Schumer said, according to The Hill. “That will give members plenty of time to read the bill before voting on it.”

Schumer added he will start the Senate’s procedural gears running Monday so that senators can vote on the motion to proceed to the bill by Wednesday, giving senators a chance to pass it before a two-week Presidents Day recess.

“As for the timing of the vote, I plan to file cloture on the motion to proceed to the vehicle by Monday, leading to the first vote on the national security supplemental no later than Wednesday,” he said, according to The Hill.

To proceed for a floor vote, Schumer will need the support of at least nine of the chamber’s 49 Republicans to break a fillbuster. provided all 51 Democrats support the bill.

Even though the text has yet to be released, many Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, and some progressive Democrats have voiced opposition to it. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., indicated last week that House Republicans will “vigorously oppose” any Senate bill that “would further incentivize illegal aliens to break our laws.”

The biggest obstacle reportedly is a measure that would block illegal border crossings for asylum seekers once the number of migrant encounters hits a daily average of 5,000 in a week or 8,500 in a day. The 5,000 daily average would amount to an acceptance of roughly 1.8 million migrants a year, and The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday many Republicans have cast the provision as a surrender.

“Addressing these challenges is not easy, but we cannot simply shirk from our responsibilities just because a task is difficult,” Schumer said, according to The Hill.

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., the lead Republican negotiator for the bill, told The Hill that Schumer’s timeline should give colleagues enough time to study the bill but added colleagues with smaller staffs might need more time.

“It depends on the level of staffing that they have,” he said. “Do they have people that are knowledgeable on these issues? If they do, they can read through it pretty quickly.”

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted Thursday on X, formerly Twitter, that a weekend is not enough time to study the bill.

“There are rumors we could finally see a text of the mysterious ‘border deal’ [that doesn’t secure the border] in the next 24 hours,” Lee wrote. “Remember: GOP conference passed my resolution that we need time to debate and amend whatever bill we’re given. A single weekend doesn’t count.”