A handful of Senate Republicans tried to be the adults in the room after Donald Trump convinced a good chunk of their party’s members of Congress to do nothing to address issues at the border so that he has something to whack President Biden with on the campaign trail. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was joined by 21 of his colleagues to help pass a $95.3 billion foreign aid package — without border provisions — early Tuesday morning, which includes crucial aid for Ukraine.
The legislation was put up for vote and advanced by the almost two dozen Republicans in the Senate last week, only after a rather embarrassing display of intra-party handwringing as Trump’s whims crushed a bipartisan border package crafted by a few conservative Republicans. My colleague Kate Riga eloquently unpacks the ludicrosity of the past few weeks here.
Upon the passage of the foreign aid bill last night — aka the legislation that remained after the immigration reform measures were stripped out, which House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) joined Trump in demonizing in the same breath as he demanded border security measures be included in any foreign aid bill — McConnell unleashed some upper chamber smugness in a statement. Upon the bill’s passage, it was all but certain the legislation would go nowhere in the House.
“The Senate understands the responsibilities of America’s national security and will not neglect them,” McConnell said. “History settles every account. And today, on the value of American leadership and strength, history will record that the Senate did not blink.”
As it became increasingly clear Tuesday that Johnson had no intentions of bringing the Senate-passed bill to the House floor in the wake of motion-to-vacate threats, McConnell put out another statement, urging Johnson to hold a vote on the legislation.
“I hope the speaker will find a way to allow the House to work its will on the issue of Ukraine aid and the other parts of the bill as well,” McConnell told Politico. “What I do think is appropriate is for the House to be able to work its will on Ukraine, which obviously was the most controversial part of what we did.”
McConnell added he doesn’t have “any advice” for Johnson on how to take up the measure without losing his job in the ungovernable void that has become the lower chamber.
The Best Of TPM Today
The latest installment in TPM’s series on the Ken Chesebro document trove: How Chesebro’s Most Radical Ideas Entered The Trump Campaign’s Planning
Yesterday’s Most Read Story
Docs Obtained by TPM Show Trump Lawyers’ Plan To Make Jan. 6 Last For Days On End — Josh Kovensky
What We Are Reading
It took me three tries to register to vote in Texas — and I’m an elections reporter — The Texas Tribune
Georgia election board votes down proposal to limit absentee voting — AJC
‘Cowboys for Trump’ founder is hoping a Supreme Court ruling on ballot eligibility could help him too — NBC