WASHINGTON, Jan 17 - President Joe Biden hosted top congressional leaders at the White House to underscore Ukraine’s security needs as it continues to fight Russia’s nearly two-year-old invasion, hoping to add momentum to efforts to pass $110 billion in stalled aid to Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies.

Speaker Mike Johnson, in one of his few direct encounters with the president, used the face-to-face moment to push Biden for tougher border security measures, with the speaker telling him that GOP lawmakers were demanding “substantive policy change” and insisting that the White House’s executive actions on immigration had weakened the border.

The dueling focus from the two leaders highlighted the precarious nature of the complicated talks to unlock Ukraine aid, which is hinging on negotiations to enact tougher measures at the U.S.-Mexico border to satisfy Republicans who are otherwise hesitant about sending more aid abroad.

While Biden, Johnson and other lawmakers who went to the White House agree broadly on continuing to support Kyiv and implementing restrictions at the border, the two sides have remained at odds on details, with the speaker pushing the White House and Senate negotiators on immigration measures that go beyond what Biden is willing to accept.

“We understand that there’s concern about the safety, security and sovereignty of Ukraine,” Johnson told reporters after the meeting, which ran for more than 80 minutes and included senior congressional leaders and top lawmakers on national security committees. “But the American people have those same concerns about our own domestic sovereignty and our safety and our security.”

Later on Capitol Hill, Johnson said he was “cautiously optimistic” as he brushed past reporters.

Inside the Cabinet Room meeting, as the fireplace roared and tea and coffee were served, Biden again made clear to lawmakers what he had said in public for weeks: That the border is broken and that significant changes are needed, according to attendees.

“He even said, ‘I will do a big deal on the border,’” said Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., recounting Biden’s words from the meeting.

Part of the thinking behind the meeting was to populate it with national security leaders, to impress upon Johnson the importance of the aid package and the current U.S. approach to world affairs. So during Wednesday’s meeting, members of Biden’s national security team sought to underscore the real impact that fading U.S. support is having on the battlefield for Ukraine.

White House officials detailed for lawmakers that Ukrainian forces are running low on key weapons, including arms that the Ukrainians have no choice but to use because of the current nature of the fight, according to two U.S. officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity to discuss the private talks.

One of the officials said Biden’s team broke down for lawmakers on a month-by-month basis the impact a lack of a congressional deal will have on Ukraine’s ability to defend territory and derail its efforts to win back land that Russia has captured. White House officials also stressed to lawmakers that the lack of U.S. commitment to provide further funding to Kyiv has emboldened Russian leader Vladimir Putin to carry out some of the biggest bombardments on Ukrainian soil since the war began in February 2022.

Following the meeting, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., warned that if Congress didn’t greenlight more aid, “within a year, we would be on our back foot, doing all kinds of things that we wouldn’t want to do.” Schumer also said Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, discussed how countries such as Japan and Korea “would probably turn from us if we didn’t support Ukraine.”

The White House readout of the meeting said Biden “underscored the importance of Congress ensuring Ukraine has the resources it needs—including air defense and artillery capabilities—to defend itself against Russia’s brutal invasion” and “discussed the strategic consequences of inaction for Ukraine, the United States, and the world.”

“He w as clear: Congress’s continued failure to act endangers the United States’ national security, the NATO Alliance, and the rest of the free world,” the White House said. “The President called on Congress to quickly provide additional funding to support Ukraine and send a strong signal of U.S. resolve.” (ap/ez)