Aid to Ukraine could be delayed indefinitely in the Senate. Republican lawmakers are determined to ensure that their demands over the US border crisis and Biden’s immigration policies are duly addressed in any bill that earmarks more funds for the Kiev regime.
Republican Senators John Thune of South Dakota and John Cornyn of Texas have warned Senate Democrats they would not get the 60 votes they need to push through their much-sought-after assistance for Ukraine without changes to border policy that would curb the flow of migrants.
Thune, the Senate minority whip from South Dakota, warned that GOP lawmakers are “dead serious about having border security in the bill.” While Cornyn added:
“We’re going to use this as frankly a maximum point of leverage to get the administration to do what they should have done a long time ago.”
Both Thune and Cornyn have been denouncing Biden's border crisis as a direct result of his "failed policies," highlighting the crucial fact that "border security is national security."
Screengrab of X post by US Senator John Thune (R-SD).
© Photo : SenJohnThune/X
Screengrab of X post by US Senator John Cornyn (R-TX).
© Photo : JohnCornyn/X
However, a stalemate seems imminent between the Republicans and Democrats concerning funding for the Kiev regime. Democrat Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona argues that shelving Ukraine aid would be a "colossal mistake". He also asserts that the border policies proposed by the GOP would be unacceptable to the Democrats.
Earlier, three Republican Senators, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, offered their draft outline of how to address the Biden administration’s spiraling border crisis. The plan, unveiled on Monday, included resuming construction of the border wall dating back to Donald Trump’s presidency, making it more difficult for migrants to claim asylum, and keeping asylum seekers out of the US while their applications were being processed.
Furthermore, House Speaker Mike Johnson recently also offered his vision of linking any aid to Ukraine with Republican legislation known as "HR-2", or the Secure the Border Act. It was passed by the House in May 2023. Senator Thune was cited by media reports as applauding Johnson's plan as having "a lot" of GOP support in the Senate, adding: "It'd be strong."
More than 10 million people may have illegally entered the United States since President Joe Biden took the reins in January 2021, according to Center Square, a US conservative website.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy added that the Dems' immigration priorities would also need to be addressed in any border policy package, such as a pathway to citizenship for “dreamers.” The term was linked to the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Created in 2012, DACA protected immigrants who arrived in the United States illegally as children.
Not at all optimistic about being able to “process everything” that the GOP has been proposing, Senator Murphy told the press that “a triple bank shot” would be needed to wrap up border policy negotiations between the GOP and the Democrats by the deadline of November 17. Accordingly, the US is yet again facing the looming threat of a federal government shutdown.
As for Ukraine aid, a growing number of Republicans have called for aid to the Kiev regime to be cut off, and for that money to be redirected towards solving domestic crises such as the surge in illegal crossings at the US-Mexico border.
Biden sought to push through an additional $60 billion in weaponry for NATO's proxy war with Russia in Ukraine. This was done by including it in an omnibus emergency spending bill alongside aid for Israel, but this came up against stiff resistance from Republicans. As a result, the House approved a standalone bill providing $14.3 billion in aid to Israel, setting up a showdown with Senate Democrats.