Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) dispelled rumors that he is ready to abandon a border deal as part of any aid package for Ukraine.
In brief comments at Thursday’s Senate GOP conference lunch, McConnell told members that his view had not changed on the subject, according to multiple senators who attended.
The comments put to rest doubts over his commitment to the border talks following reports that McConnell had seemingly wavered at a conference meeting the day before.
In that meeting, McConnell told his Republican colleagues the Senate is in a “quandary” over Ukraine and seemed to entertain the idea of deferring to Donald Trump’s judgment on the border. The former president, who appears headed for a 2024 matchup against Joe Biden, has signaled opposition to the emerging compromise.
The reporting prompted a furor of confusion, and pushback, among the ranks of Senate Republicans on Thursday morning.
McConnell was not saying Ukraine and the border should be split, a fired up Thom Tillis (R-NC) told reporters. “I didn’t hear anything about bifurcating the various pieces of the supplemental,” he said.
Others were baffled by the characterization — multiple Republicans told the Washington Examiner he made nothing more than a passing remark and that they walked away with a different impression than what was initially reported.
“I was there. I did not hear that at all,” said Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS).
But multiple senators also confirmed the thrust of what McConnell said — that political headwinds had put Republicans in a bind on Ukraine. Trump is not alone in his opposition; the Republican-led House has also threatened to reject a border compromise if it does not stem the record flow of migrants.
“He said that Trump’s the apparent nominee, and he’s weighed in, so we’ve got to respect that,” Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) said of McConnell’s remarks.
Importantly, McConnell’s office did not dispute the original reporting.
The minority leader’s Thursday clarification does not guarantee Ukraine aid will proceed. Border talks remain at an impasse on the issue of parole. It is possible no deal materializes.
But his political calculus lays bare the difficulty the Senate will have in getting a Ukraine package done.
Conservatives have dismissed the likely border compromise, which includes new restrictions on asylum, as a fig leaf. But a sizable bloc is also resistant to further money for Ukraine as the war with Russia enters its third year.
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Linking Ukraine with the border had been viewed as a “grand bargain” that could unlock the more than $60 billion Biden has requested, but that strategy is freshly in doubt as the border talks drag on.
If the package eventually passes the Senate, there is no guarantee Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will bring it to the House floor.
