After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, political support for the U.S. ally was relatively bipartisan. Leaders from both parties recognized the seriousness of the international crisis and responded accordingly.
Nearly two years later, political conditions on Capitol Hill have changed considerably — and the future of U.S. support for Ukraine is in serious doubt.
The White House this week sent a letter to congressional leaders with dire warnings and pleas for legislative action. As NBC News reported, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young stressed the United States is “out of money — and nearly out of time” to provide weapons and equipment to Ukraine.
“I want to be clear: without congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and to provide equipment from U.S. military stocks,” Young wrote. “There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment.”
She warned that the lack of aid would “kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield, not only putting at risk the gains Ukraine has made, but increasing the likelihood of Russian military victories.”
That was yesterday. Today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at the behest of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and President Joe Biden, will address senators via video conference at a classified briefing. The point is simple: The Ukrainian leader will make clear to lawmakers that U.S. military aid is absolutely necessary.
But if the need is great, the crisis is now, and leaders of both parties are willing to support our allies in the midst of a deadly war, what’s the problem? The answer is that Republicans will only approve aid to Ukraine if Democrats agree to a series of far-right border policies.
To be sure, there’s no connection between the war in Ukraine and domestic immigration. But GOP lawmakers believe they have leverage, effectively telling Democrats that Republicans will let Ukraine suffer unless the GOP gets the border measures they want.
This isn’t altogether new: Republicans first presented this ultimatum a month ago, sparking detailed bipartisan negotiations. What is new is that those talks appear to have collapsed. NBC News reported:
Republicans have vowed to filibuster Biden’s aid package unless Democrats agree to tighten U.S. asylum and parole laws in immigration proceedings. But bipartisan negotiations on a border policy deal, led by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., faltered on Friday amid deep disagreements between the two parties, according to congressional aides with knowledge of the talks.
As The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent reported last week, Democrats have already made a series of concessions in the hopes of reaching an agreement. GOP senators have not responded in kind — and it’s important to understand why.
“I think there’s a misunderstanding on the part of Senator Schumer and some of our Democratic friends,” Republican Sen. John Cornyn told NBC News. “This is not a traditional negotiation, where we expect to come up with a bipartisan compromise on the border. This is a price that has to be paid in order to get the supplemental.”
The Texan’s candor was illuminating. For these GOP senators, there is no give and take. These talks are not designed to be constructive policy negotiations in which both sides make concessions and work towards a common goal. Republicans, in the dynamic they’ve created for themselves, are not playing the role of policymakers. Rather, they want and expect to be seen as hostage-takers. They haven’t presented Democrats with an idea to be explored; they’ve handed Democrats a list of demands they expect to be met. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told Politico that in exchange for aid to Ukraine, “Republicans are insisting on policies that would ‘essentially close the border’ and eliminate asylum for people with meritorious claims.” Just so we’re clear, GOP leaders, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, actually want Ukraine to receive the support. I emphasize this because it creates a dynamic in which Republicans expect to get what they want in exchange for something else that Republicans also want. What’s more, it’s not just the Senate: House Speaker Mike Johnson has also told the White House that Ukraine is “dependent upon“ Democrats approving the far-right border policies the GOP wants. Schumer declared on the Senate floor yesterday afternoon, “Democrats want to be reasonable on immigration, and we are willing to make concessions. But we will not keep going in circles if Republicans aren’t interested in even meeting us halfway.” In response, GOP officials have already said they have no intention of meeting Democrats halfway. I can only imagine how pleased Russia’s Vladimir Putin is with the Republicans’ tactics.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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