Sure They Are - White House 'Scrambling' to Save Border Talks

Top Biden administration officials are scrambling to keep border talks alive as a deal with Senate Republicans over Ukraine funding has grown increasingly elusive, four people familiar with the talks said.

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Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, White House deputy chief of staff Natalie Quillian and Shuwanza Goff, director of the White House office of legislative affairs, on Tuesday afternoon met on the Hill with Senate negotiators — Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.). They also met with staff from the offices of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, while not present as a negotiator Tuesday on the Hill, has also been heavily involved in Hill engagement in recent days, speaking with Democratic Senate negotiators, Schumer and Lankford several times, according to a senior administration official.

The White House is “hustling,” said one of the four people, all of whom were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. “They’re pretty desperate at this point.”

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