Congress gives up on Ukraine aid until next year
Congress gave up Tuesday on a lastditch bid to speed through emergency military aid to Ukraine before the end of the year, as negotiators failed to cement a deal that Republicans have demanded tying the money to a crackdown on migration across the U.S. border with Mexico.
“Our goal is as soon as we get back to get something done,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the majority leader, told reporters at the Capitol.
The delay punts the fate of Ukraine aid — and the complicated task of drafting new immigration laws — into early next year, when lawmakers will also face the daunting task of striking a broader spending agreement to avert a partial government shutdown by mid-January.
“We are not going to have a lot of time when we get back to get our security package and full-year funding bills across the finish line,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., chair of the Appropriations Committee, admonishing Republicans to “get serious” about spending negotiations.
“January is not going to be an enjoyable month,” Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the top Republican on the committee, told reporters.
Senators have struggled for weeks to strike a bargain pairing about $50 billion in fresh security aid for Ukraine with border enforcement measures stringent enough to satisfy Republicans but not so severe as to alienate Democrats. They intensified
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their efforts late last week, after Schumer delayed the Senate’s holiday break to increase pressure for a deal before the new year.
Senior White House officials and Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, have been making near-daily visits to the Capitol to try to hammer out a compromise. But despite their efforts, which participants insist have resulted in progress, the group has yet to produce the text of a bill, or even the framework of an agreement.
Negotiations continued Tuesday afternoon, but with only days left before Christmas, they had no chance of concluding before the holiday.
As the talks have dragged on, former President Donald Trump has reprised the nativist language that has defined his campaigns and his presidency, injecting fresh hostility into the debate over immigration policy. During a campaign rally in New Hampshire, he said that immigrants from South America, Africa and Asia were “poisoning the blood of our country,” drawing comparisons to Nazi propaganda promoted by Adolf Hitler.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the minority leader, dismissed the remarks on Tuesday with a sharp retort.
“It strikes me that didn’t bother him when he appointed Elaine Chao secretary of transportation,” McConnell said, referring to his wife, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Taiwan.
McConnell has been a vocal supporter of extending military assistance.