A faction of Senate Republicans is adding their brand of obstruction to the chaos that is the year-end push to fund the government and provide ongoing assistance to Ukraine and new aid to Israel. The group is threatening to withhold support for aid to Ukraine unless the Senate includes in the funding package some of the worst elements of an immigration bill passed by the House.
That House bill, HR 2, was so controversial even among Republicans that its passage was delayed for months. Now a handful of MAGA senators, including a few from the pro-Putin wing, are pushing some of the most racist elements of that bill. Sens. James Lankford of Oklahoma, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina are demanding policy changes that would make it much more difficult to flee criminal and political violence in their home countries to seek asylum in the U.S. They want more funding for border security, including resuming construction of Donald Trump’s border wall.
Those sweeping changes wouldn’t just harm the people seeking asylum at the southern border, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois pointed out, saying the proposal “is not a good starting point” for negotiating enhanced border security. It would harm refugees from Ukraine, Afghanistan, and other countries “who we should be aiding, not deporting.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted the proposal in a conference call with Democrats Tuesday. “Senate Republicans basically copied large chunks of the House’s radical bill. And that's the asking price for funding Ukraine?” The idea is a “huge mistake,” he said, but he did add that Democrats would be open to considering some border security and immigration reform. He used the example of this push from Republicans to exhort Democrats to more forcefully make the case of aid to Ukraine with their GOP colleagues, sources familiar with the call told Politico.
The move from this group somewhat undermines Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been a stalwart supporter of Ukraine since the Russian invasion. He hasn’t endorsed this push from his right flank but told the Associated Press getting some border provisions in the package “is the best way to get nine Republican senators on board.”
This deference to the hard-right House, where Ukraine aid is seriously imperiled, comes at an extremely delicate time for Ukraine, with restive allies starting to push for the Ukrainian government to start negotiations with Russia. It also deepens the chaos already created by House Republicans last week when Speaker Mike Johnson insisted on splitting up Ukraine and Israel aid, and the House passed the Israel funding bill. That bill is dead on arrival in the Senate.
Democrats need to explore all options for pressuring Senate Republicans to keep support for Ukraine alive and minimize the amount of poison Republicans will demand in return. That includes House Democrats using a discharge petition. There are still large numbers of Republicans in both the House and Senate who continue to support Ukraine. They need to be forced to step up.
RELATED STORIES:
Ukraine Update: Zelenskyy confronts rising pressure for high-stakes peace talks
MAGA Mike Johnson's controversial move on aid to Israel
House Democrats need to dust off discharge petition and pass Ukraine aid
Campaign Action