Top Senate Republicans said Thursday that bipartisan talks to address the crisis at the southern border are on life support, imperiling chances of a broader deal on tens of billions of dollars in support for Ukraine and other U.S. allies.

House Republicans have been balking at details of the negotiations and former President Donald Trump has weighed in with deep skepticism as well, leaving the as-yet-unreleased deal on the brink of failure.

“We’re close to that point. Something’s got to give here,” said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 2 GOP leader in the chamber. “We’re at a critical moment.”

His comments came the day after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, said a deal was in doubt. He told GOP colleagues in a private meeting that the “politics have changed,” according to a report in Punchbowl News.

The border talks had become the linchpin in the $110 billion national security spending package. Many Republicans said they could not justify to their voters approving more than $60 billion in aid to Ukraine to defend its border against Russia while not doing something to solve the chaos at the U.S.-Mexico boundary.

The emerging deal would have stiffened rules for claiming asylum and would have allowed new expulsion powers when the flow of illegal immigrants topped 5,000 a day. President Biden, meanwhile, was hoping to get work permits issued to unauthorized migrants as soon as they are caught and released. He also wanted to expand legal immigration.

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House Republicans, though, wanted a more enforcement-heavy solution including border wall construction and an end to the administration’s expansive use of “parole” to allow catch-and-release. They said the Senate deal would do little to derail the flow of migrants, and left too much discretion in the hands of an administration they don’t trust to carry out the laws.

Mr. Trump, well on his way to claiming the GOP presidential nomination, urged Republicans to reject any deal that didn’t solve the border.

Mr. McConnell, in his private assessment, signaled Mr. Trump’s growing influence over congressional Republicans, at one point calling him the party’s “nominee,” according to the report.

The lead Democratic negotiator, Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, serving as Democrats’ lead negotiator, said Republicans were seeking to preserve a political issue by scuttling bipartisan talks.

“I know for Donald Trump and some Republicans, it’s not in their best interest for there to be policy changes that actually fix the broken asylum system, or give the president new tools to better manage the border,” he said.

He said he’s still negotiating with Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, the GOP’s chief negotiator.

Some Republicans cheered the negotiators on and said Mr. McConnell’s assessment didn’t mean the talks were dead.

• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.

• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.