Posted on 02/07/24
| News Source: The Hill
Senate Republicans voted Wednesday against advancing a bipartisan border security deal that was part of a larger emergency foreign aid package to fund the war in Ukraine, Israel and Indo-Pacific security.
A motion to proceed to the package failed by a vote of 49-50, with most of the Senate GOP conference voting against it. Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), James Lankford (Okla.) and Mitt Romney (Utah) voted to advance the measure.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) voted no, citing opposition to $10 billion in military aid to Israel given the deaths of more than 27,000 Palestinians in Gaza. Democratic Sens. Ed Markey (Mass.), Bob Menendez (N.J.), Alex Padilla (Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) also voted no.
Schumer said earlier Wednesday that he intends to move on to a Plan B after the failed vote and put a package on the floor that contains aid for Ukraine, Israel and other foreign policy priorities — but doesn’t include the border deal. He voted “no” on technical grounds that it will allow him to offer the motion to reconsider.
The development marked a dramatic shift among Senate Republicans, who for months have insisted that any funding for Ukraine must be paired with reforms to secure the border.
That demand prompted Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to appoint Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) to negotiate a deal with the White House and Senate Democrats to raise the standard for migrants seeking asylum and give Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas emergency power to deport migrants.
It also would have provided $6.8 billion to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, $7.6 billion for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and $4 billion to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Altogether, it would have invested $20.2 billion in improving border security.
McConnell and Lankford hailed the deal for delivering major wins for Republicans, though they acknowledged they didn’t get every reform they wanted from the four-month negotiation.
McConnell noted several times on Tuesday that the deal received the endorsement of the influential National Border Patrol Council, which he said showed it was a “quality product.”
The border security deal was part of a $118 billion national security supplemental package that included $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion in security assistance for Israel and $10 billion for humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine.
But the Republican backlash was fast and furious after the negotiators unveiled the details of the deal shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday.
Former President Trump wrote on Truth Social that “only a fool, or a Radical Left Democrat, would vote for this horrendous legislation.”