McConnell and Schumer stay united on supplemental push amid bipartisan defections
By
Emily Jacobs
January 21, 2024 6:00 am
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are putting on a united front to pass the defense supplemental spending bill.
A bipartisan working group of senators has spent more than a month negotiating a border security deal, which would be added to a defense spending bill that includes aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Negotiators on both sides have acknowledged that the border measure is critical to passing the legislation through both chambers.
McConnell, who has been Ukraine’s staunchest GOP ally since Russia launched its war last February, has said he supports the larger supplemental bill as long as it includes “credible” border policy changes.
Schumer and McConnell have been in lockstep on supporting the effort to combine Israel and Ukraine aid. The two have also backed the inclusion of border security, though they differ on specifics, as a means to push the bill through both chambers. Taiwan assistance was additionally included to help broaden support for the bill.
more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/senate/2807939/mcconnell-schumer-ukraine-border-supplemental/
