BY ALEXANDER BOLTON 12/06/23

Senators in both parties are calling for President Biden and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) to take a more active role in negotiations over a package to fund Ukraine and Israel and secure the U.S.-Mexico border after GOP senators voted unanimously Wednesday to block a motion to proceed on the $110 billion bill. 

Biden’s request for military aid to Ukraine and Israel, humanitarian assistance for Gaza and funding to secure the southern border now appears to be in serious jeopardy after talks over border security broke down Friday.

That’s when Sen. James Lankford (Okla.), the lead Republican negotiator, offered a proposal that Democrats say “mirrored” the proposals in the House-passed Secure the Border Act, which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has called a non-starter.  

Schumer tried to break the impasse Wednesday by promising Republicans they could offer the first amendment to the foreign aid package and propose whatever border security reforms they think could win 60 votes on the Senate floor, but GOP senators slapped down the offer.  

With only two work weeks left before Christmas, senators acknowledge it’s looking more likely that Congress won’t pass new money for Ukraine this year, and some are calling on Biden and McConnell, who have a long history of negotiating major deals, to get more directly involved.  

“I think it would be very helpful to have the White House as part of this negotiation,” Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) said. “In the wake of this failed vote, it’s an appropriate time.”

Bennet noted that Biden and McConnell put together a major deal to avoid the fiscal cliff at the end of 2012, after negotiators in Congress couldn’t reach a deal on the expiring Bush-era tax cuts.  

McConnell also worked with Biden to avoid a national default in the summer of 2011 and to temporarily extend the Bush tax cuts after the 2010 midterm election.

“This would be a great moment for President Biden and for Leader McConnell to come to an agreement on something so important, and they are the only ones who can come to this agreement, really,” Bennet said. “This is an important moment for President Biden and for Leader McConnell to do what they do best, which is negotiate in the interests of the country.” 

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said it’s his “assessment” that party leaders need to take a more active role in the talks after the Senate negotiating group led by Lankford and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) fell apart last week. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) has also participated in the Senate border security talks.

“It’s going to require the president to acknowledge that they have to fix the border. It means his policies have got to be recognized as the root cause of the problems on the southern border,” he said.

Rounds said it would be “better” if any deal on Ukraine funding and border security were worked out between Biden and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), but he said Johnson is constrained by the threat that a small group of Republicans could force his ouster by advancing a motion to vacate the Speaker’s chair.  

“The problem is the Speaker is in such a precarious position that if he made a deal with the president,” Rounds said, “his outcome would be the same” as former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.).  

“So I think we have a better shot of getting it if the president and the minority leader in the Senate sit down, find a common agreement that all sides can agree on and then we take it to the House,” he added. “I’m convinced that whatever we come up with in the Senate will get a supermajority in the House.”

Rounds emphasized that Lankford “knows” border security “better than anybody” and that his “expertise is extremely valuable,” suggesting he could be a part of summit talks with Biden. 

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said the negotiations over border security need to be kicked up to the leadership level.  

“When the big deals get made, ultimately it’s the folks on top that either give that final blessing or do that final negotiation, and we’re running down the clock here, and the stakes are too high to leave this unfinished,” she said. “Whether it’s the president and McConnell, I think that probably remains to be seen, but I do think that we need to take this to a place where we can make a deal that can be signed into law.”

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and other GOP senators are highly skeptical that Schumer or anyone he names to a negotiation will agree to the border security reforms that Republicans are insisting ride along with funding for Ukraine.  

“I think what came out of yesterday’s briefing” on Ukraine “is how much Democrats don’t want to secure the border,” he said. “Certainly, Leader Schumer — doesn’t sound like there’s any desire on his part to do something to secure the border.” 

Schumer has argued that Biden’s request to Congress would significantly improve border security by providing funding for 1,300 additional border agents, 100 inspection machines to detect fentanyl, 1,600 additional asylum officers and 375 new immigration judge teams.

Murphy told reporters last week that senior White House officials have become steadily more involved in the Senate negotiations. He said the major problem in the talks is that Republicans are pushing for reforms that are broadly unpalatable to the Democratic Party. 

One GOP senator who requested anonymity voiced skepticism about Lankford’s and Murphy’s ability to “land the plane” without more intervention from McConnell and Biden, even though the senators are highly respected by their peers. 

Sources close to McConnell, meanwhile, are pushing back on the idea that he’s going to suddenly work out a deal with Biden on border security and Ukraine funding after deputizing Lankford to take the lead for Republicans.

McConnell has backed up Lankford and other conservatives calling for major asylum policy reforms by framing the huge flow of migrants into the country as a major national security problem. 

“As we’ve said for weeks, legislation that doesn’t include policy changes to secure our borders will not pass the Senate. The situation unfolding at our southern border on President Biden’s watch is a crisis of historic proportions. It’s glaring. It’s acute. And it’s undermining America’s national security,” the GOP leader said before Wednesday’s vote.   

Customs and Border Patrol tallied 12,000 encounters with migrants at the border Tuesday, the highest number ever recorded. 

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of the bipartisan group of senators negotiating border security reforms, said Wednesday that a “lot more work” remains to be done and expressed uncertainty about getting a deal before year’s end.  

“I’ve been pretty open to ideas, but I have not yet seen something that even comes close to reducing future flows,” he added.

Asked about Biden and McConnell getting more involved in the talks, Tillis said that could be a good idea “as long as that produces 25 of my Republicans voting for it,” warning that he doesn’t want to see a deal that picks up only nine or 10 Senate GOP votes.  

“What we need is for everyone to understand that we have to have a policy that will cut in half or more the flows across the border, or we’re not going to have a deal,” Tillis said.

…………..

White House and Ukrainian officials have told lawmakers that without an influx of weapons, Ukraine will run out of resources to defend against Russia by the end of the year.

Credit…

David Guttenfelder for The New York Times

Republicans Block Aid to Ukraine, Jeopardizing Its Fight Against Russia.

By Karoun Demirjian

Reporting from Washington

The Senate’s failed vote came as Ukrainian officials met with defense contractors at a summit sponsored by the Commerce Department to discuss Ukraine’s longer-term needs on the battlefield. The United States has approved $111 billion in aid for Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in early 2022, including at least $45 billion in military assistance, most of which has flowed through U.S. defense contractors.

But the early zeal for helping Kyiv beat back an invading force has fizzled as the war grinds to a stalemate, after a Ukrainian counteroffensive largely failed to meet its objectives. While most Senate Republicans still say they support arming Ukraine, a majority of House Republicans, including Mr. Johnson, have voted in recent months to curtail aid programs.

In a speech to conference attendees, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III committed to staying in the fight with Ukraine, despite the discord over funding such ventures in Congress.

“Together with our allies and partners, I am confident that we have all the pieces that we need to help our Ukrainian friends sustain their fight for their sovereignty over the long haul,” Mr. Austin said.

Lara Jakes contributed reporting from Rome, and Eric Schmitt from Washington.

Republicans on Wednesday blocked an emergency spending bill to fund the war in Ukraine, demanding strict new border restrictions in exchange and severely jeopardizing President Biden’s push to replenish the war chests of American allies before the end of the year.

The failed vote highlighted waning support in the United States for continuing to fund Ukraine’s war effort at a perilous time in the conflict, with Kyiv’s counteroffensive failing to meet its objectives and Russia’s forces on the offensive. While the bill faltered over an unrelated immigration policy dispute, the resistance it has met in Congress reflects a dwindling appetite among Republicans for backing Ukraine, as polls show that Americans are losing interest in providing financial assistance.

In the Senate, the vote to move forward on the bill was 49 to 51, short of the 60-vote threshold needed to advance.

Republicans held ranks against the $111 billion bill, which would provide about $50 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, more for economic and humanitarian aid, and another $14 billion toward arming Israel in its war against Hamas. They voted no despite a series of last-ditch appeals from Democrats and an appeal by Mr. Biden, who said he was prepared to offer “significant compromises” on the border and scolded them for abandoning Ukraine in its hour of need.

“Make no mistake: Today’s vote’s going to be long remembered, and history is going to judge harshly those who turned their backs on freedom’s cause,” Mr. Biden said on Wednesday at the White House, just hours before the vote. He said Republicans were “willing to literally kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield and damage our national security in the process.”

The demise of the legislation in the Senate meant that Ukraine was exceedingly unlikely to be able to secure the additional American aid before the end of the year — and possibly beyond. White House and Ukrainian officials have been sounding alarms in recent days, telling lawmakers that without an influx of weapons, Kyiv will run out of resources to defend against Russia’s invading army by the end of the year.

In an interview on Wednesday, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, said that Ukraine’s “ability to advance and their ability to defend will be substantially constrained” if Congress does not approve additional funding soon.

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has “been quite public and vocal about his notion that if military aid from the United States ceases, it will mean that Russia will defeat Ukraine,” Mr. Sullivan added.

Pentagon officials have cast some doubt on claims by the White House that Kyiv is about to run out of American money. They have said that the administration will be able to continue assisting Ukraine militarily through the winter, by parceling out the remaining $4.8 billion of authority to send Kyiv weapons from U.S. stockpiles.

And the dire warnings have done nothing to wear down Republican opposition in the Senate, where lawmakers spent the hours before Wednesday’s vote trading blame over the collapse of the bid to help Ukraine.

The State of the War

• War Crimes Inquiry: Prosecutors in Ukraine have started an investigation into whether Russian troops shot dead two Ukrainian soldiers who were in the act of surrendering, the latest episode in which the government in Kyiv has accused Moscow of violating the Geneva Conventions.

• Crossing the Dnipro: Ukrainian troops have taken positions on the east bank of the river, posing a threat to Russia’s dominance of the region. Here is a look at the battlefield and the strategic implications.

• A Wrenching Choice: Ukrainian refugees who fled Russia’s invasion for temporary homes in Germany were welcomed with safety, services and jobs. As the war grinds on, giving that up to go home is not a simple decision.

Republicans, even those who have been staunch advocates for arming Ukraine, blamed Democrats for refusing to bow to their demands for major immigration policy changes as the price of securing more assistance for Kyiv.

“Apparently some of our colleagues would rather let Russia trample a sovereign nation in Europe than do what it takes to enforce America’s own sovereign borders,” Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, said on the Senate floor. “They’re convinced open borders are worth jeopardizing security around the world.”

Democrats rejected that charge, pointing to more than $20 billion in the spending bill devoted to border security measures like hiring patrol and asylum officers and beefing up fentanyl screenings. They accused Republican lawmakers of manufacturing a false crisis by leveraging Ukraine’s fate to promote a restrictive border agenda that would never pass the Democratic-led Senate.

“You can’t say ‘I’m for Ukraine, but only if I get this wholly unrelated policy enacted,’” said Senator Brian Schatz, Democrat of Hawaii. “You can’t be for stopping Putin from taking over a country by force and then vote against providing Ukraine the resources to do just that.”

Democrats voted unanimously in favor of advancing the measure, but Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who normally votes with them, joined Republicans in opposition. Mr. Sanders had argued in a letter to his colleagues that it would be “absolutely irresponsible” to provide Israel with billions of dollars in unconditional military assistance, given the rising civilian death toll in Gaza.

How Times reporters cover politics. Times journalists may vote, but they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. That includes participating in rallies and donating money to a candidate or cause.

Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, changed his vote at the end to allow him to bring up the bill again in the future. Afterward, he said Democrats would continue to work with Republicans to find a solution, and were ready to consider any new proposals the G.O.P. had to offer.

“I hope they come up with something serious, instead of the extreme policies they’ve presented thus far,” Mr. Schumer said, adding that if they “do not get serious very soon about a national security package, Vladimir Putin is going to walk right through Ukraine and right through Europe.”

But the path ahead was unclear. While some lawmakers are eyeing upcoming government funding deadlines in January and February as future opportunities to strike a deal, others fear that waiting months could endanger Ukraine’s war effort.

“The clock is ticking,” Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington and the chair of the Appropriations Committee, said on the Senate floor. “Aid for our allies in Ukraine has run dry and the whole world is now watching to see if the U.S. is now capable of standing by all its allies in times of need.”

Before the vote, Mr. Biden conceded that the border should be addressed, saying: “We need to fix the broken border system. It is broken.”

But he, too, branded the Republicans’ demands as “extreme.”

In bipartisan talks in recent weeks to find a compromise, Senate Democrats agreed in principle to make it more difficult for migrants to seek asylum in the United States. But they balked at some of the G.O.P. senators’ more restrictive proposals, including measures to detain all migrant families, keep migrants in Mexico until their day in immigration court, and expand the president’s authority to expel migrants swiftly, before they can make asylum claims.

Speaker Mike Johnson has demanded even more, including a ban on the use of an application to streamline some migrants’ entry into the United States and a requirement that employers use an electronic database known as E-Verify to confirm that their hires are eligible to work in the United States.

Mr. Schumer made a last-ditch effort this week to keep the spending bill alive by offering Republicans a chance to try to add a border security amendment to the measure — provided they could secure 60 votes for it.

This “is the moment for Republicans to put up or shut up,” Senator Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, told reporters on Wednesday, citing Mr. Schumer’s offer. “If we cannot come to a vote that sustains our allies and partners in Ukraine, we will have failed this moment in history.”

But Republicans did not take Mr. Schumer up on the offer. Instead, immediately after the vote, a group of Republicans took the floor to insist that the Senate abandon the effort to pass the sweeping national security package and focus on speeding aid to Israel.

“Let’s deal with the aid to Israel and do it separately from Ukraine,” Senator Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, said on the floor, arguing that voters “don’t want this to come attached with billions of dollars for other programs.”

In a floor speech on Wednesday, Mr. Schumer questioned whether Republicans were even interested in making a deal — or if the goal had been to abandon Ukraine all along.

“Has border been nothing more than an excuse for the hard right to kill funding for Ukraine and too many other Republican senators who are not part of the hard right are going along?” he said. “Because we don’t have much time to keep negotiating off the floor if all we’ll do is go around in circles.”