Will Republicans strike a border deal?

ON DECEMBER 6TH Republicans rejected President Joe Biden’s request for $106bn of funding, most of it to , on the basis that its provisions to secure America’s southern border did not go far enough. A group of senators now seem close to striking a bipartisan deal on immigration rules, thought to include as the price of Republican support. But it looks likely to be defeated in the House of Representatives. On January 14th Mike Johnson, the House speaker, said that meaningful border reform would have to wait until a Republican was president. Yet on January 17th, after a meeting with Mr Biden, he hinted that he might be open to a compromise after all. Is one likely?