McConnell floats splitting Ukraine and border security amid GOP infighting

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) on Wednesday suggested to Senate Republicans the possibility of splitting funding to Ukraine from border security reforms that have come under intense criticism from Senate conservatives.

Senate Republican officials said McConnell told Republican senators during a Wednesday afternoon meeting that the politics of border security were a sign that McConnell and other Senate Republicans had criticized him and other Senate Republicans months ago when they claimed he would tie Ukraine funds to border security. He acknowledged that it had turned out to be much more complicated than lawmakers expected. I'm familiar with his comments.

“I think the border part is dead,” one Republican senator said, quoting McConnell to the Republican conference meeting Wednesday.

“This has become much more difficult politically than I thought it would be,” McConnell told Republican senators, according to the senator.

“That sounded to me like the first step to saying, 'We can't do this,'” the source said. “We expect the border area to peel off.”

But funding for Ukraine has long been a priority for Mr. McConnell, who did not back away from insisting on providing tens of billions of dollars more in military aid to Kiev.

Another Senate Republican official familiar with Mr. McConnell's comments said that Mr. McConnell has become a top Republican in the Senate now that it has become clear that Senate conservatives strongly oppose the border security reforms they negotiated with Democrats, along with the Ukraine funding. “We're presenting options,” he said.

McConnell and other Senate Republicans believe the concessions elicited from Democrats would be a “huge victory,” but former President Trump, the party's likely presidential nominee, is expected to oppose the policy. officials said.

But the person said McConnell was “indecisive” on removing border security reform from Ukraine funding, and that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., would ultimately offer options for an emergency defense spending package. He emphasized that only Bring it to the Senate floor.

Senate Republicans backing the new policy say it has become clear that President Trump will oppose it, meaning it has little chance of passing the Republican-controlled House. It has said.

“The Trump faction wants to kill this issue and pursue this issue,” said a Senate source familiar with internal Republican discussions.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said in a press conference Wednesday afternoon that the Senate package linking Ukraine funding to border security has a “zero point, zero, zero percent chance” of passing the House. Other Republicans expressed similar views. Senator.

Mr. Cruz said under a deal put together by Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), whom Mr. McConnell tapped to lead border security talks, the number of migrants entering the country each day would be twice that of his predecessor. He said it would be. President Barack Obama.

“That doesn't work…. We had a lively discussion yesterday at lunch. I asked the leadership, 'Why on earth do you have all these Democrats and 10 Republicans that has no chance of passing the House?' Or do we have to tie the votes with 12 people?'' Cruz said, recalling the tense moment at Tuesday's Senate Republican luncheon.

Removing the border security language from the Ukraine funding, which has been painstakingly negotiated with Senate Democrats and the White House over the past six weeks, would be a significant shift in strategy.

But given how much opposition border security reform currently faces from conservative Republicans, it may be the only option to save Ukraine money.

President Trump expressed a similar sentiment last week when he wrote in Truth Social: He said, “I just don't think we should have a border agreement unless we have everything we need to stop the invasion of millions and millions of people.”

Mr. McConnell may also be willing to cut economic aid to Ukraine from the measure if border security measures are stripped away in order to garner more Republican votes for the measure. Such a package would maintain military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

McConnell's chief of staff, Senate Republican John Thune (S.D.), has floated the idea of ​​removing some economic aid to Ukraine from the package to improve the chances of passing military aid.

“Personally speaking, I'd like to see some of it. [of economic assistance] Eliminated waste. I think there are a lot of them and a lot of them are funded there. I think a lot of our members would very much like military aid, lethal aid, especially given the fact that we're replenishing our arms in this country,” Thun said.