- Senate Republicans on the eve of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s arrival in Washington are casting increasing doubt they will reach a deal unlocking aid to his country by the end of the year.
- Help for Ukraine is linked to talks on a border deal, and senators on Monday said they were no closer to reaching an agreement on the issue, which would push work on the $111 billion package requested by President Biden into 2024. The package was to cover money for Ukraine, Israel, the border and other priorities.
- The Senate is scheduled to leave town by the end of the week, and the House departs a day earlier, giving negotiators only days to strike a deal — something both sides see as a massive, if not impossible, hill to climb even after weekend talks.
- Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) said he was “offended” by the visit.
- “Zelensky is parachuting into this domestic political debate about prioritizing our own border. He’s not here to tell us anything we haven’t heard before, he’s here to badger and browbeat Speaker Johnson and Senate Republicans into forgoing our negotiations on border security in order to write him another blank check,” Vance said on Steve Bannon’s “War Room.”
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GOP Holds Firm In Demand For US Border Protection In Return For Ukraine Funding
FILE - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, walks with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., left, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., right, at Capitol Hill on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
