Mitch McConnell played bigger part in failed border plan than anyone knew: ‘He wrote the deal’
By
Rachel Schilke
February 7, 2024 9:17 pm
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said he was shocked that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) could not get more Senate Republicans to support the newly unveiled border legislation that was struck down on Wednesday.
The Senate killed that $118 billion bipartisan border and foreign aid bill after failing to receive 60 votes to advance, falling short by a 49-50 vote. The failed procedural vote came after Republicans vocally disparaged the border legislation on Monday, at times blasting McConnell and other GOP leaders for the bill’s provisions.
McConnell himself reversed course when he saw no chance of the bill becoming law. Murphy, the lead Democrat on the bill, as well as Sens. James Lankford (R-OK) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and officials from the White House worked together on the bill for months and unveiled it on Sunday, and it was once championed by the Kentucky Republican.
Now, Murphy said he found McConnell’s change of heart and the complete dismissal from the GOP concerning.
“He didn’t just bless the deal. He wrote the deal,” Murphy said to NBC News. “I have a ton of respect for his commitment to Ukraine. I genuinely enjoyed working with his team. They were in the room every single day. But it’s really worrying that a deal that was written and endorsed by the minority leader gets four votes from his caucus.”
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/senate/2844183/chris-murphy-mitch-mcconnell-role-border-legislation/