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Senate Republicans block aid package for Israel, Ukraine

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FILE – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 15, 2022. Democrats celebrating a successful effort to keep control of the U.S. Senate this year will soon confront a 2024 campaign that could prove more challenging. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)




By Clare Foran, Lauren Fox, Ted Barrett, Kristin Wilson and Morgan Rimmer | CNN

Senate Republicans blocked aid for Israel and Ukraine from advancing in a key vote on Wednesday in protest over a dispute about border security policy, a clash that threatens to derail passage of the foreign aid.

The tally for the procedural vote was 49 to 51, falling short of the 60-vote threshold needed proceed. At the end of the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer switched his vote to “no” – a procedural move that will allow him to bring up the measure again in the future.

Republicans have insisted that the foreign aid must be paired with major border security policy changes. There have been talks to try to find consensus, but no bipartisan deal has been reached over the contentious issue.

The stalemate comes amid Israel’s war against Hamas and Ukraine’s war against Russian aggression. The White House issued a dire warning earlier this week that funding for Ukraine is running out and failure to secure an agreement to approve further aid will present critical national security risks.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said ahead of the vote that Republicans would block the bill when it came up for consideration because they believe it does not adequately address border security.

“Senate Republicans are going to deny cloture on a bill that doesn’t address America’s top national security priorities in a serious way. As we’ve said for weeks, legislation that does not include policy changes to secure our borders will not pass the Senate,” he said on the Senate floor.

Schumer has accused Republicans of “hostage taking” as the path to passing aid to Ukraine and Israel remains unclear.

Schumer warned on Tuesday that “without more aid from Congress, Ukraine may fall, democracy in Europe will be imperiled and those who think Vladimir Putin will stop merely at Ukraine willfully ignored the clear and unmistakable warnings of history.”

Republican senators are warning that they are on track to leave for the holidays without passing the supplemental, a stark message to their Democratic colleagues who they say aren’t serious enough about border security.

“It’s becoming more and more apparent that we are not going to be able to pass a supplemental, which I think is terrible,” Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, told CNN.

“If I was a betting person, right now I would say I don’t know how you land this before the holidays unless we’re here right at the very end. But, we’ll see,” Senate GOP Whip John Thune said. “Maybe all of a sudden, there will be a convergence of views about the need to get this done.”

President Joe Biden urgently called on Congress to pass aid for Ukraine in an impassioned speech on Wednesday.

“Make no mistake: today’s vote is going to be long remembered. And history is going to judge harshly those who turned their back on freedom’s cause. We can’t let Putin win,” Biden said.

Senate Democrats have released legislative text for a $110 billion security assistance package that includes funding for Israel and Ukraine and humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, among other priorities. The bill includes border security provisions, but a bipartisan deal hasn’t been struck over the issue.

In November, the GOP-controlled House passed a bill to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel. Democrats, however, took issue with the bill over the fact that it would enact funding cuts to the Internal Revenue Service and that it did not include aid to Ukraine.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has also stressed the importance of border security. “Any national security package has to begin with the security of our own border,” he said at a news conference Tuesday.

CNN’s Haley Talbot and Betsy Klein contributed to this report.


Originally published at Cnn.Com Wire Service

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