- Senate fails to advance national security bill including border security reforms, with GOP senators and some Democrats rejecting bipartisan talks result.
- Bill includes foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and other national security priorities, with plans to quickly move to vote on foreign aid portions.
- Republican senators oppose border agreement, saying it doesn’t go far enough, while Democrats push for foreign aid vote; future of slimmed-down bill uncertain in House.
Additional Coverage:
The Senate failed to advance a national security bill that included border security reforms on Wednesday, with GOP senators and a handful of Democrats rejecting the result of months of bipartisan talks.
The bill also included foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and other national security priorities. Democratic leaders planned to move quickly to a vote on the foreign aid portions of the legislation, which some Republicans said they would support.
A procedural vote to begin debate on the version of the bill that included border security measures fell short of the 60-vote threshold needed to advance.
Many Republican senators had come out against the border agreement, saying the legislation would not go far enough in stopping border crossings and tightening asylum laws. Nevertheless, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer proceeded with the vote.
Schumer plans to move forward with a vote on the foreign aid elements of the bill. Whether the slimmed-down bill will gain the 60 votes needed to move forward remains to be seen.
The about-face from Republicans comes more than four months after the initial standoff over the White House’s funding request. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy initially tied border funds to Ukraine aid, emphasizing that Ukraine wouldn’t receive aid if the border was not secure.
Some House Republicans had already grown skeptical of more aid to Ukraine, while Senate Republicans generally backed continuing to support Kyiv. But the GOP quickly coalesced around the idea that the U.S.-Mexico border must be addressed if Ukraine was to receive additional aid.
After rejecting the border security components of the supplemental, some Republicans expressed openness to backing it without the border provisions. Democrats accused the GOP of changing its tune on the border.
The prospects of the supplemental funding package, without border security, are unclear. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell supported the move, but its future in the Republican-controlled House is uncertain.