Over the past several weeks, Donald Trump had mostly been successful in goading Republicans in Washington to oppose a funding deal that would include billions in military aid for Ukraine. But on Saturday, after Trump declared that he would “not protect” US allies from Russia if he felt that their NATO contributions were insufficient, the ex-president’s pressure campaign suddenly hit a snag.
Less than 24 hours later, 18 Republican senators joined their Democratic colleagues on Sunday to advance a foreign aid package that Trump had specifically urged them to oppose, writing on Truth Social, “ARE YOU LISTENING U.S. SENATE(?), NO MONEY IN THE FORM OF FOREIGN AID SHOULD BE GIVEN TO ANY COUNTRY UNLESS IT IS DONE AS A LOAN, NOT JUST A GIVEAWAY.” The supplemental funding package provides $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan—but does not include the sweeping immigration changes and border-security enhancements built into the bipartisan deal that failed to survive a procedural vote last week.
In a floor speech Sunday, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell seemingly offered a direct rebuttal to Trump’s comments in South Carolina. “I know it’s become quite fashionable in some circles to disregard the global interests we have as a global power,” said McConnell. “This is idle work for idle minds. And it has no place in the United States Senate.” Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina who voted to advance the bill, blamed Trump’s aides for the comments and told Politico that more Republicans would likely back the measure once amendments were filed. Even Senator Rand Paul, typically a fierce defender of Trump, called the remark a “stupid thing to say.” (Paul has nevertheless vowed to impede the foreign aid package at every turn.)
Despite the bill’s new bevy of Republican supporters, its fate remains uncertain. The Senate was set to begin a two-week recess on Monday, but it’s now expected to stay in session until a vote on final passage can be held later this week. Republicans are likely to condition their support on policy and funding changes they feel would curtail migrant crossings at the US-Mexico border. The fraught marriage of foreign aid and border security—now an ingrained Republican template—has led to months of stalled negotiations. Some Senate Republicans couched their opposition to the last funding package by claiming it was not stringent enough, though it would have provided billions in emergency funding for ICE and its migrant detention centers, Customs and Border Protection, and additional border fortifications.
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