00:04:29.440What we're anticipating will happen next is Schumer is going to go back to the supplemental that has Ukraine and has Israel and has Taiwan and does nothing on the border.
00:04:39.200That's what he tried initially that we blocked in the fall.
00:04:46.600I'm going to oppose it because what I said before, I still believe I'm not going to vote for this bill until we actually secure our border.
00:04:54.440When I said it, unlike Republican leadership, I wasn't just reading talking points.
00:04:58.900I actually believe that securing the border is the existential national security threat facing the United States right now, and we should use the leverage that the Democrats desperately want on Ukraine to try to get it done.
00:05:11.600So I think our view should be, if you want Ukraine funding, attach it to HR2 and you'll get your funding.
00:05:18.800But Schumer's going to take up Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan.
00:05:23.160He's probably going to begin tomorrow.
00:05:24.520And I don't know what will happen, but I think there is a very real possibility that a significant number of Republicans vote for that, that they care so much about the Ukraine funding, they're going to say, we tried on the border, we failed, now let's fund Ukraine.
00:05:39.260If they get nine votes, which I think is probably pretty likely, they'll get 60, which is what it takes to pass the Senate.
00:05:47.240And so I think there's a reasonable prospect that a supplemental bill that funds Ukraine and Israel and Taiwan will pass out of the Senate.
00:05:54.100But then I think it's very likely to fail in the House.
00:05:57.640I don't think the House will take it up.
00:05:59.200And that means that McConnell and Schumer and Biden still have a problem.
00:06:03.920If they want Ukraine funding, passing a clean funding bill out of the Senate is not going to get the job done.
00:06:10.720And so what I would urge the House to do is take the Ukraine funding bill, attach H.R. 2 to it, and send it back to the Senate and keep fighting.
00:06:20.040Use the leverage we have to say, hey, you can have this funding if you want.
00:06:25.440Secure the border first, because that matters more.
00:24:34.580So you're seeing half of what was the biggest fight at lunch today.
00:24:39.040And so I wanted you to listen to that, because that's what Mitch said at lunch.
00:24:42.520And I have a policy at the lunches, which is I don't repeat what other senators say at the lunch.
00:24:46.840I think they're owed some expectation of privacy that we can have candid and really frank discussion.
00:24:53.740So I don't repeat what others say, but I repeat what I say, because if I said it, I have a right to repeat it and say it elsewhere.
00:24:59.500Given that Mitch went out and just said it to the reporters, I can tell you that's what he said in the room as well.
00:25:03.460And when he said it, I stood up and I said, by the way, and you listen to the words he just said, that press conference, he said, well, gosh, it was the Republican conference that wanted to tackle this issue.
00:26:12.340If a bunch of Republicans go out and say this is a terrific bill, but the House wouldn't pass it, every Democrat, John Tester this week has already said, look, I was ready to secure the border.
00:26:22.000But these crazy right wingers wouldn't pass it.
00:26:25.020And their story they want to tell is these knuckle dragging Trumpers don't actually want to secure the border because we had a great bill to secure the border.
00:26:38.320So their argument is that Republicans want the issue.
00:26:40.920We want to campaign on the border rather than actually fix it.
00:26:44.160And I'll tell you, I yelled at my colleagues last week when they were making this argument.
00:26:48.480And I said, listen, for me, I've lived this border.
00:26:51.240There is nobody in this body who wants to solve this more than I do because it is a travesty that is hammering and destroying Texas every day.
00:27:01.000But I said, listen, if a bunch of Republicans go out and tell the story, this was a great bill that would secure the border.
00:27:08.680But, you know, Trump is so crazy we couldn't do it.
00:27:11.580But the Speaker of the House and the House Republicans, they're so crazy we couldn't do it.
00:28:37.420Because both of them desperately want to fund the Ukraine war.
00:28:41.260And on immigration, they just wanted to throw whatever fig leaf was necessary on the table to give to to to give an excuse to try to get Ukraine funding passed.
00:28:52.060There's a lot of people that are going to be listening.
00:28:53.580They're going to say, all right, well, yes, this seems like this is a victory that we didn't have this bill become law.
00:29:00.060But there also seems to be a lot of frustration of, OK, what's next?
00:29:04.980I mean, Senator, we we can't secure the border.