Democrat Chris Murphy of Connecticut# is one of the three key senators who## negotiated that agreement.

He# joins me now from Capitol Hill.

Senator, welcome back to the# "NewsHour."

Thanks for joining us.

My colleague Lisa Desjardins reported# earlier on som also reported that House Speaker Johnson says# the bill is dead on arrival.

Where is the path## forward now?

And what's your understanding of what# House Republicans would agree to at this point?

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): Well, let's just# go back and understand why we're here.

Last fall, Democrats tried to pass funding# for Ukraine necessary in order to stop Russ from succeeding in their invasion,# and Senate Republicans said to us,## we're not willing to support Ukraine# funding without border provisions.

We engaged for four months in a# good-faith negotiation the border,## in part because we know the president needs new# authorities to control the number of peop are crossing.

And we achieved that agreement# that allows the president to shut down parts## of the border when crossings get very high,# that dramatically reforms the asylum system,## so that it doesn't take 10 years any longer to get# a claim processed, it will now take six months,## and lets more people into the country legally# with an expansion of family and employment visas.

But now Republicans seem to be getting cold feet# because Donald Trump has said and his allies in## the House have said, we don't want to pass any# bipartisan border reform.

We'd rather leave the## border open and chaotic, because it will help# President Trump in his upcoming reelection.

I still believe that there's enough Republicans# of good faith in the Senate that we can get this## passed.

And, if we do, then I think that# show of bipartisan support for the border,## fixing the border, and Ukraine can maybe# unlock a pathway forward in the House.

AMNA NAWAZ: You have faced some criticism from## your fellow Democrats as The caucus chair, Pramila Jayapal, said# Democrats are giving int views.

She said President Biden and Senate# Democrats have fallen into the same trap again.

Are you worried that the bill could# alienate your progressive base?

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY: Yes, listen, there has been## nothing done on immigration# in W And that is because both parties have refused to# come to the middle and try to find some common## ground.

This is an old-fashioned compromise, one# that we don't often see in Washington these days,## in which there are going to be some Democrats that# vote no and a lot more Republicans that vote no.

But what we have achieved, I think, is important.# The reality is, this country can't handle 10,000## people coming every day to our southern# border with the resources that we have.

We## shouldn't be OK with an asylum claim taking# a decade before it's ultimately processed.

So, the reforms we're making here are going# to make more sense of a broken immigration## system.

I know it's not everything that# the left wants.

It's not everything that## the right wants.

But I think our job is to# come here and find these tou AMNA NAWAZ: Well, the bill has some $20 billion# for the border, but the bulk of the money is for## Ukraine, some $60 billion of what's been called# critical funding for their war against Russia.

If there's no path forward# for this particular bill,## how else could you move that aid in# some kind of expedited way to SE N. CHRIS MURPHY: Well, right now, Republicans# have not identified any other path, right?

The## reason why we are talking about these two# provisions being put together is because## Republicans demanded it.

And so we can't# forget the reason why we are at this moment.

But I think that we need to call Speaker# Johnson's bluff.

I think he doesn't want## the Senate bill to succeed because he knows# there would be enormous pressure from some## elements of his own caucus that support Ukraine# funding to bring it up for a vote in the House.

So I just think the Senate needs to do the# right thing.

The right thing is to support## this bipartisan compromise that fixes our border# and gets funding to Ukraine.

And then, hopefully,## that changes some of the realities in the House.# I haven't heard a better plan from any of these## Republicans who right now seem to be content to# sit on the sidelines and complain and critique,## but not actually get in the room, as Senator# Lankford, Senator Sinema and myself have.

AMNA NAWAZ: Just to be clear, you think, once this# passes, if this is able to pass in the that creates enough pressure to# change the dynamics in the House?

What have you seen that leads you# to believe that could be tru SEN. CHRIS MURPHY: Well, what I'm saying is# that I don't know what the Sp eaker Johnson right now is just offering# complaints.

He's not actually prop any bipartisan solution to fund Ukraine# and fix the border.

And the reality is,## there are two parties in Washington.

Republicans# don't get to dictate everything that happens here.

That's why I reached out to Senator# Lankford.

That's why he reached out## to me.

That's why we have forged this# bipartisan compromise.

Until I better idea on how to get a bipartisan compromise,## the one we have achieved is the only one# that's possible to p AMNA NAWAZ: Senator, before I let you go, I# have to ask about another provision in the bill.

It includes, we should say, the aid for# Gaza, among other places.

But it strips## funding for UNRWA, which is the United# Nations agency that operates inside of## Gaza.

That's because Israel accused 12 of their# employees of being part of the October 7 attacks.

But we have heard UNRWA is the only group capable# of actually delivering aid on the ground.

So is## there any other group on the ground that you think# could actually get the aid where it needs to go?

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY: So, I do.

UNRWA has been a very also learning that elements of UNRWA# are compromised.

This was a demand of## Republicans.

The only way that they were# willing to support any humanitarian aid## into Gaza was to strip out the authority# for that money to go to UNRWA.

We didn't## feel like it was the responsible thing# to abandon humanitarian aid completely.

And we also do know that groups like the Red# Crescent, groups like the World Food Program,## other smaller not-for-profit actors# on the ground can get this key## humanitarian aid out.

So we believe# that we can find good, responsible,## vetted partners.

We also believe that some# of our allies in and around the region and## in Europe will be able to help UNRWA# keep their operations up and running.

AMNA NAWAZ: All right, Democratic Senator# Chris Murphy from Connecticut, sir,## thank you for your time.

Good to speak with you.

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY: Thank you.