Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell insisted Thursday that he still supports a border security bill that would be linked to Ukraine funding, despite remarks that he believes a deal could have difficulty passing given former President Donald Trump's opposition to a border deal before the November election.
Politico, quoting two unnamed Republican senators who attended a closed-door party meeting Thursday, reported that McConnell told members about his continuing support, in hopes of dispelling doubts that he remains committed to the bipartisan border talks.
Trump is calling on Republicans to reject any border deal that does not include "everything" Republicans are demanding, agreeing with lawmakers that the bipartisan proposal does not reach far enough.
Wednesday, however, McConnell told Republicans during another private meeting that the politics on the bill are being complicated by Trump's top standing in the GOP primary election and his strong opposition to the agreement, which is putting the GOP in a "quandary," lawmakers at the session told The New York Times.
Thursday, McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters that "we're trying to get an outcome." And after the meeting, Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., added that the negotiations are at a "critical moment."
"We've got to drive hard to get this done," he said. "If we can't get there, then we'll go to plan B. But I think, for now, at least, there's still an attempt being made to try and reach a conclusion that would satisfy a lot of Republicans."
McConnell has been a strong proponent of border-compromise legislation and backs efforts to send Ukraine several billions of dollars in military aid. The snag, though, is that Republicans are calling for border security legislation to be tied to the Ukraine funding deal.
Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, commented that it is an "understatement" to say that attitudes on the bill are shifting.
"There's a chance that [McConnell is] signaling to Democrats that they have to budge a whole lot more than they have so far," he said. "There's a chance that he sees the political writing on the wall, that the package just doesn't have a great future. It's hard to say what leadership is thinking."
Even if it meets that bar in the Senate, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has cast doubt on the prospect that he would bring it to the floor in the House, where he is already facing ouster threats from conservatives angry with last week's passage of a $1.56 trillion bill to keep the government open.
Wednesday's meeting was requested by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., who has expressed doubts over the border deal.
"I'm literally not getting any kind of acceptable response, other than, 'Oh, this is great, you know, we're getting things we never thought we could get,'" Johnson said about the border talks, while other party members said it would not be wise to help President Joe Biden with a compromise bill that would not answer the immigration issue.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said on social media that the deal would allow Biden to "pretend" to be taking action on the border, but wouldn't solve the issues.
However, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said the border deal would likely be supported by a Republican majority if they voted with their conscience, but "there's more to it than that," as Trump's position on the deal matters as both a past president and "more than likely the next president."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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