Senate Republicans on track to block bipartisan border deal and foreign aid package with key votes

Senate Republicans expected to go on the offensive Wednesday’s vote will include a major bipartisan border deal and a foreign aid package that includes aid to Ukraine and Israel, amid a barrage of attacks on the bill by former President Donald Trump and top House Republicans.

If the vote fails, Senate Republicans plan to enact restrictive border measures, and one Republican, James Lankford of Oklahoma, one of the most conservative senators in the House, plans to enact restrictive border measures. That would amount to a surprising rebuke from Senate Republicans for a partially drafted agreement. Republicans had called for border security to be included in the bill, but have now rejected the deal under pressure from President Trump, who has made the border issue a central issue of his presidential campaign.

The expected outcome would jeopardize aid to key U.S. allies, Ukraine and Israel, at a critical time. The vote will put pressure on lawmakers to pass foreign aid on their own without border provisions, but the outlook is uncertain as some Republicans oppose further aid to Ukraine. .

The Senate is scheduled to take its first procedural vote on Wednesday, with 60 votes needed to pass the bill. It is expected that there will be defectors on both sides of the aisle. After the deal was announced Sunday evening, there was a flurry of opposition from Republicans to the deal.

Senior Senate Republican leaders have opposed the bill, and amid opposition from Speaker Mike Johnson and concerns within the Senate Republican conference, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday that the bill was “passable.” I won’t.” Prime Minister Boris Johnson reiterated that the bill would be “defunct on arrival” in the chamber.

Democrats have expressed anger at Republicans who have united against the deal, arguing that they cannot be trusted as negotiators and bowing to President Trump’s pressure to keep the border issue in the political spotlight. he claimed.

Although Trump and other Republicans have attacked the bill as too weak, it represents tough changes to immigration law, giving the president broad powers to restrict the entry of illegal immigrants at the southern border. become. The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board called the deal “the most restrictive immigration law in decades.”

The border deal is the result of months of negotiations with three senators: Lankford, independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, and Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut.

The massive $118 billion bill would provide aid to key U.S. allies abroad, including billions of dollars to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia and security assistance to Israel. This includes humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine.

Some Democratic lawmakers have also criticized the bill. Democratic Sens. Bob Menendez (New Jersey) and Alex Padilla (California) have both strongly attacked the border agreement.

Menendez called the deal “unacceptable” in a statement Sunday night, saying, “Democrats would be furious if these changes had been considered under the Trump administration, but we want to win elections.” “Latinos and immigrants now find themselves on the altar of sacrifice.” ”

Padilla said in a statement that the bill “misses the point,” adding that it would “create more chaos at the border, not lessen it,” adding that it would “promote Dreamers, farmworkers, and other undocumented immigrants.” “We cannot provide relief to those who have lost their lives,” he added. These are the people of our country who contribute billions of dollars to our economy, work in essential jobs, and make America stronger. ”

Many Republicans have attacked the border policy head-on, with some arguing that there should be more time to consider, debate and amend the bill after it was announced Sunday night.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer harshly criticized Senate Republicans who opposed the policy for following Trump’s marching orders.

“We all know what’s going on here. Rather than let the Senate do the right thing and solve it, President Donald Trump would rather leave the chaos at the border and campaign while campaigning. We want to exploit it inside,” Schumer said Tuesday. “And instead of standing up to Donald Trump, Senate Republicans are going to kill their biggest chance to fix our border.”

“Do they want amendments? Go ahead with the bill. We’ll bring in the amendments. Do they want some time? Let’s go ahead with the bill, we can take our time and debate it. ” Schumer said. “But voting ‘no’ means you are unwilling to even discuss or move forward with the bill. This is a rejection that is completely contrary to what the American people want.”

If the border package hits a wall in the Senate, attention will quickly turn to whether aid to Ukraine and Israel can be passed without border provisions.

McConnell argued Tuesday that the Senate needs to change course on national security policy and focus on foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

“There are other parts of this supplement that are very important, such as Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. In my opinion, the rest of the parts are important and we need to continue working on them. It’s not like borders aren’t important. No, we don’t get results,” McConnell told CNN’s Manu Raju. “So I think that’s where we should go. If we don’t actually go that way, it’s up to Sen. Schumer to decide how to repackage this.”