Senate Dems say border talks are dead. Republicans say it’s merely a flesh wound.

The lead Democrat in the Senate border negotiations warned Monday that those discussions have fallen apart, endangering a major part of President Joe Biden’s foreign policy agenda.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said in an interview that in exchange for signing off on Ukraine aid, Republicans are insisting on policies that would “essentially close the border” and eliminate asylum for people with meritorious claims. Both of those provisions, he said, are nonstarters for Democrats.

“Right now, it seems pretty clear that we're making pretty big compromises and concessions and Republicans aren't willing to meet us anywhere close to the middle,” said Murphy, who noted that talks stalled out on Friday. The senator said the door is open to reengaging. But, “there's no path based upon the place where things were at the end of last week.”

Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, the lead Republican negotiator, was more bullish about the state of the talks. He said Republicans have merely not yet replied to a Democratic proposal sent to them on Friday and indicated GOP senators will stay at the table.

“I wouldn’t describe it as a breakdown,” he said. “We're still swapping paperwork and we're still having conversations. That doesn't feel like a breakdown to me. That feels like we're still working, just not making progress fast enough.”

Democrats have previously indicated that they were willing to tighten up the standards under which migrants can claim asylum. Murphy said they’ve also had “very good discussions around” changing some parole policies, another potential Democratic concession that would likely anger progressives.

“Ultimately, there's just not Democratic votes for closing the border indiscriminately,” Murphy said.

Even if senators were able to hammer out a supplemental deal with significant border concessions, the package would still face a steep climb in the House. Republicans in that chamber, many of whom are resistant to Ukraine money, have demanded even more restrictive border policy measures. That means Democrats would have to offer up significant support to get a bill over the finish line, if a vote is held at all.

Lankford disputed Murphy’s assertion that Republicans are demanding policies that would result in a “shutdown” of the border. He said that the GOP believes it is imperative to address the record number of migrants crossing into the United States through Mexico.

“We're not asking for some sort of total shutdown of the border in the sense that no one can cross it anytime, anyplace,” he said. “We're asking for an orderly process. Right now, it's total chaos.”

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who has also been in the talks, said she didn’t believe the current impasse was fatal to the negotiations but suggested both parties needed to be more realistic about what can be achieved.

"Arizonans need real solutions now to our border crisis. I continue to reject the toxic partisanship that poisons results and work with both Republican and Democratic negotiators on real solutions to the crisis because now is not the time for political talking points, it’s time for action," she said in a statement to POLITICO.

The standoff may come to a head as soon as this week. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told Democrats late last weekto prepare for a vote on the nearly $106 billion supplemental — which would include money for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and border security – on Wednesday or Thursday.

Lankford reiterated that if Schumer held a vote on the supplemental without a border deal, he would back a filibuster to block it. That’s currently the most likely scenario without a deal, as several other Republicans indicate they have the requisite 41 votes to tank it.

Some senators have speculated that such a failed vote would add new urgency to the border talks. But it would come at a price — sending a dire message to the world about congressional support for Ukraine and Israel aid.

The Biden administration, meanwhile, warned congressional leaders Mondaythat time is running out for Ukraine.

In letters to party leaders in the House and Senate, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young said that inaction before the end of the year on a new round of funding threatens to "kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield."

"I want to be clear: Without congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and to provide equipment from U.S. military stocks," she wrote. "There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment. We are out of money — and nearly out of time."

Burgess Everett contributed to this report.