The president’s posture on Ukraine aid stirred even Utah Sen. Mitt Romney to storm off as GOP exodus challenged the America last administration.
Tuesday, as the rhetoric over the war-torn eastern European nation running low on United States taxpayer dollars ramped up, so too did tensions in a closed-door meeting between President Joe Biden administration and senators.
In addition to the White House and Democrats seemingly remaining unflinching on rejecting securing the southern border, Republican senators expressed their concerns over unanswered questions.
“Dems want $106B–GOP wants a closed border. That’s the trade,” posted Romney to X on Tuesday about the supplemental that would see the vast majority of dollars headed to Ukraine. “But clueless Dems want to negotiate the border bill. Not going to happen. Is an open border more important to Dems than Ukraine and Israel?”
Dems want $106B—GOP wants a closed border. That’s the trade. But clueless Dems want to negotiate the border bill. Not going to happen. Is an open border more important to Dems than Ukraine and Israel?
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) December 5, 2023
Meanwhile, Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer, who had been spotted departing the meeting alongside her Republican colleague decried the administration’s stonewalling on details beyond what is already publicly available.
“The point is there’s no answer to any questions down there,” the member of the Senate Armed Services and Appropriations committees told Defense News.
“We’ve had it. When you have Deb Fischer who’s upset about this,” she added, “they better be worried. Because I have backed everything.”
The Nebraska legislator spoke specifically to the approach Biden and the Democrats were taking to continue funneling money to Ukraine, attempting to pass a spending supplemental package instead utilizing the budget process, and remarked, “They should have realized the issues. We’ve been very aware of the issues that we have in Ukraine with our own munitions.”
She too sounded off on social media and said, “The first responsibility of the federal government is the defense and protection of the United States. It stands to reason that the most crucial part of a security supplemental is security for our own border.”
The first responsibility of the federal government is the defense and protection of the United States.
It stands to reason that the most crucial part of a security supplemental is security for our own border.
— Senator Deb Fischer (@SenatorFischer) December 5, 2023
Republican senators storming off wasn’t the only hiccup Tuesday as a planned address to the briefing from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the region’s preeminent fundraiser, was reportedly canceled.
Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, who stuck it out longer than his GOP peers, told Defense News, “Frankly after the last few minutes, I’m beginning to worry about the supplemental passing at all before the first of the year.”
Like Fischer, he critiqued the limited information being provided even behind closed doors, but remained insistent that the funds be provided to Ukraine.
“That said, we very much need to pass a supplemental assisting our Israeli friends, our Ukrainian friends, getting ready for deterring war in the Pacific, and addressing our southern border, and part and parcel to our defense needs is the very inadequate submarine-industrial base.”
Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) added his own voice echoing Wicker’s sentiment as he said, “Senate Republicans have been crystal clear: national security starts with border security. The sooner Democrats realize this, the sooner we can deliver on urgent national security priorities.”
Senate Republicans have been crystal clear: national security starts with border security. The sooner Democrats realize this, the sooner we can deliver on urgent national security priorities.
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) December 5, 2023
His Democratic Party counterpart, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer would go on to invoke President Ronald Reagan on the Senate floor to shame the GOP and said, “Ronald Reagan would be rolling in his grave, rolling in his grave if he saw his own party let Vladimir Putin roll through Europe. So once again, I urge my Republican colleagues to think carefully, carefully about what’s at stake with this week’s vote.”
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Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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