Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell strongly defended his handling of a foreign aid package and bipartisan border security deal that have come under heavy criticism from his right flank, saying bluntly that “every argument” against Ukraine aid is “wrong” and that the opposition amounts to a “political reaction” driven by former President Donald Trump.
McConnell, having just presided over one of the most tumultuous periods in his nearly two-decade tenure atop the Senate GOP, said he has occasionally in the past been “on the short side” of GOP senators – like on government funding bills and debt ceiling hikes.
But in an interview with CNN in his Senate office on Wednesday, McConnell called this battle over Ukraine aid a “rare issue” where he had to get well out front of his party, which has grown increasingly resistant to helping fund the foreign war amid the ascendant isolationist wing being driven by Trump.
“It’s not a question of whether I’m frustrated or not,” McConnell said when asked about the criticism he’s endured from within his own party. “I feel strongly this is in our best interest, America’s best interest and the world’s best interests to do this. … And being beat up is something I’m kind of used to after 18 years.”
Over the last few weeks, McConnell blessed a bipartisan border security deal that he tried to sell to GOP senators – only to see it derailed by House Republican leaders, fellow senators and Trump himself. Then, he helped push through the Senate a $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan – only to find himself in the minority of his conference when 22 of the 49 GOP senators voted to approve the plan earlier this week. Now, House Speaker Mike Johnson is threatening to shelve the bill altogether – all with Trump’s backing.
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