.ON DECEMBER 6TH Republicans refused Head of state Joe Biden's request for $106bn of financing, most of it to aid arm Ukraine, on the basis that its arrangements to protect America's southerly perimeter performed not go far enough. A team of statesmans currently seem close to striking a bipartisan deal on immigration guidelines, believed to include harder policies as the price of Republican assistance. But it looks very likely to be finished off in the House of Representatives. On January 14th Mike Johnson, our home speaker, pointed out that purposeful boundary reform will need to wait till a Republican politician was president. Yet on January 17th, after a conference with Mr Biden, he suggested that he might be ready for a compromise besides. Is one probably?