Senate ends year by punting most difficult issues
The Senate quietly closed out its year Wednesday by punting many of its most difficult issues into 2024. It failed to deliver on aid to Ukraine. It could not agree on a border policy plan. And a government shutdown is on the horizon.
The fizzle at the finish line guarantees that Congress will be ensnarled in policy and fiscal battles as lawmakers fight for control of the House and the Senate in November's elections.
The chief disappointment for leaders of both parties was the failure to agree on delivering more military aid to Ukraine in its conflict with Russia after the assistance got tied up in Republican demands for stringent new border controls.
It was a setback for Democrats, who had hoped that by keeping the Senate in Washington this week, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the majority leader, could force votes on a measure speeding tens of billions to Ukraine and addressing Republicans' push for immigration policy changes. But a breakthrough did not materialize.
Schumer, in an interview, said he remained hopeful that an agreement would be ready for a quick vote when the Senate returns next month. He cited greater participation in the talks by the Biden administration and a recognition by Republicans that Democrats are willing to make serious concessions on the southern border.
“I think the Republicans have seen that we're serious about the border, and that we're willing to do some things,” he said.
Schumer said the major question for Republicans was whether opposition from Donald Trump, the GOP's presidential frontrunner, would deter them from striking a deal, even though most Republicans acknowledged that helping Ukraine was the best approach.
“They have the looming specter of Donald Trump, who they know in their hearts has been not just irrational but nasty on this issue, trying to use it to appeal to the worst political instincts of people,” Schumer said.
He added that Republicans would face a choice between Trump and the “specter of history looking down on them” should the United States abandon Ukraine.
The lack of resolution came as no surprise to Republicans, some of whom jeered Schumer for thinking he could outmaneuver them in just a few days' time on an issue as vital to their base as border security — particularly given that the GOP-led House left town last week for the holiday break.
But Schumer and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the minority leader, issued a joint statement saying they were “committed to addressing needs at the southern border and to helping allies and partners confront serious threats in Israel, Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific.”
McConnell also acknowledged Democratic movement on border policy, saying Wednesday that “there's no longer any disagreement that the situation at the southern border is unsustainable and requires the Senate to act.”
After a flurry of legislating the previous two years with Congress under Democratic control, productivity in Congress declined sharply in 2023 under divided government.