House Speaker Mike Johnson is holding firm to his position on needing border security measures in exchange for Ukraine aid. (Getty Images)
"The Speaker’s message for the White House and fellow Congressional leaders was straightforward and remains unchanged," a Johnson spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
"We must secure our border and fund our government before securing another country’s border or funding another country’s priorities."
President Biden summoned the top four congressional leaders – Johnson, Schumer, McConnell, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., – for a meeting to discuss government funding and his request for a supplemental aid package for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and humanitarian aid for Gaza.
Johnson, who met with Biden one-on-one after the initial discussion, called his meetings "frank and honest."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell pressured Johnson on Ukraine at the White House, Schumer said. (Getty Images)
Biden, meanwhile, has insisted publicly that Congress must pass a legislative fix to address the issue.
A $118 billion package that included $60 billion for Ukraine and a host of border security measures was rejected by Congressional Republicans earlier this year, many of whom said it did not go far enough in addressing the crisis.
Johnson himself said it would be "dead on arrival" if it got to the House, but that was hours before it failed in the Senate with only four Republicans supporting it.
During their White House meeting Tuesday, the congressional leaders also discussed the upcoming federal spending deadlines on March 1 and March 8 as the clock ticks down to a possible partial government shutdown at the end of this week.
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All four affirmed they were committed to finding some kind of deal on government funding by Friday but gave little insight into how they planned to do so.
"The speaker said unequivocally he wants to avoid a government shutdown," Schumer said after the meeting. "We made it clear that that means not letting any of the government appropriations bills lapse, which means you need some CRs to get that done. But, we're making good progress, and we're hopeful we can get this done really quickly."
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
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