Senators Optimistic Over Additional Ukraine Aid Even as New House Speaker May Commit To End Funding

With a budget deal expected in the coming weeks, senators will soon begin work on a substantial aid package for Ukraine, though a contentious fight for the speaker of the House position may threaten that deal, as the speaker’s race could hinge on which candidates commit to stopping the spending.At a press conference Wednesday, Senator McConnell said that funding for Ukraine is one of his main priorities. “I think it’s important and I think Kevin McCarthy addressed that very well last night and it’s still a major priority,” the Republican leader said.“I think the majority of the members of both bodies support it,” he added. “We need some direction from the administration on how they want to move forward.” When the Sun caught up with Mr. McConnell as he walked to his Senate office, he would not elaborate on what level of funding he hopes to see in the final budget. Senator Blumenthal echoed those sentiments in a brief interview with the Sun, saying he wants to see $100 billion for Ukraine in the budget but said he would settle for $60 billion — which is nearly three times the amount that the Biden administration has requested. “We need to act for our Ukrainian partners and our allies in NATO,” he said just off the Senate floor. “I feel there is a lot of urgency about it as I hear from military leaders.” He said that any aid for Ukraine would be more than just weapons or cash — it would include military equipment and training, assistance for the Ukrainian economy, and humanitarian aid. Senator Whitehouse also tells the Sun that the Senate may have to play hardball with the House by adding significant funding for the southern border in its own appropriations bills in order to force aid money on the most anti-Ukraine members of the Republican House conference. “It’s been pretty chaotic all along,” the senator says of the House Republicans. “There’s an argument to be made that if the Senate puts together a good bipartisan appropriations package that includes good funding for Ukraine and the border, which seems to be the two issues Republicans are pairing, we may be able to get a good result.” Mr. Whitehouse says that if House Republicans take too long to write their budget, they’ll be forced into a rushed process on the eve of a government shutdown even as the Senate has finished its work. “It could be one of those things where the House has just run out of time, and they’ve got this bipartisan thing from the Senate, and it’s either take it or shut the government down, so you take it,” he said. The new Republican senator of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, tells the Sun he is open to a proposal like the one about which Mr. Whitehouse speculated. “Ukraine is an issue, but so is the border,” he said just off the Senate floor. “It’s going to take a while to get back to business” in the House due to the speaker situation, Mr. Mullin said, which will further affect the likelihood of any kind of deal on Ukraine aid. Not all senators are on board with such a plan, though. Senator Paul, in an exclusive interview with the Sun’s Anthony Grant, said “we don’t have any money to give to Ukraine, we don’t have a rainy day fund or a surplus — we essentially have to borrow the money from China to send to Ukraine.”The prospect of a new aid package for Ukraine is likely to be complicated by the race for speaker that kicked off following the removal of Speaker McCarthy. As of Wednesday, only two House Republicans have declared their candidacies for the speakership — the majority leader, Congressman Steve Scalise, and the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Congressman Jim Jordan. Mr. Jordan, who has long been a favorite of President Trump and members of the Republican grassroots, told CNN’s Manu Raju on Monday, “I’m against that. … At some point, we’re going to have to deal with this appropriations process in the next — what is it? — 41 days.” Mr. Mullin also tells the Sun that Mr. Jordan may have “the best opportunity” to seize the moment and win the speaker’s gavel. Mr. Jordan has already been endorsed for the speakership by multiple hardline conservative members of the House, and multiple moderate GOP members tell the Sun that they have not ruled out supporting the Judiciary Committee chairman, including Congressman Marc Molinaro and Congressman Nick LaLota.

Senators Optimistic Over Additional Ukraine Aid Even as New House Speaker May Commit To End Funding

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