The original plan was for the United States to provide support for our Ukrainian allies as part of the West’s pushback against the Russian invasion. Congressional Republicans rejected that plan, saying they’d only consider an aid package if Democrats agreed to far-right immigration and border policies.
The hostage-taking strategy was clearly radical. It was also incredibly effective. As regular readers know, congressional Democrats not only agreed to months of talks, they also made a great many concessions in the hopes of striking a compromise deal.
Several Republicans were surprised by just how far Democrats were willing to go to reach an agreement. The party’s lead negotiator, Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, boasted last week that the package would be “by far the most conservative border security bill in four decades.” Around the same time, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina assured his GOP colleagues that they simply won’t “get a better deal” than the one Democrats were prepared to accept.
Democrats hoped that Republicans would take “yes” for an answer. As NBC News reported, that’s not happening.
Inside a special closed-door Republican meeting on Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., cast doubt on an emerging deal to tighten immigration laws, citing GOP opposition to its provisions and telling senators that linking the two measures could also sink Ukraine aid.
To be sure, McConnell has championed both the negotiations and the burgeoning compromise. Indeed, the Kentucky senator has thrown his support behind robust aid to Ukraine and the details of the nearly complete deal on border and immigration policy.
So what’s the problem? First, House Republicans — the ones who said they wanted a border deal — have ruled out supporting the emerging border deal. Second, many, if not most, of the GOP members in the Senate have decided McConnell’s opinions on the matter are irrelevant.
Third, Donald Trump is publicly…
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