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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urged lawmakers Wednesday to continue supporting Ukraine, more than a year and a half after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of the country and as some Republicans have wavered in their commitment to sending aid.
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“Since Putin’s escalation in Ukraine, President Biden has not been as decisive as many of us would have preferred,” McConnell said in remarks on the Senate floor. “But this is no excuse for Congress to compound his administration’s failures with failures of our own.”
Congress is weighing a roughly $40 billion supplemental funding request put forward last month by the Biden administration that includes aid for Ukraine, border security and domestic disaster relief. About half of the funding would go toward new military aid and additional economic, humanitarian and security assistance for Ukraine.
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Some Republicans, particularly in the House, want to consider parts of the request separately, as they have limited interest in continuing to spend money on Ukraine.
McConnell noted that member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are united and that Europe has “awakened from its defense holiday” to increase its spending on military aid to Ukraine.
GOP Ukraine skeptics dominate the debate, but not the party
“It’s certainly not the time to go wobbly,” McConnell said. “Now, with Ukraine bravely defending its sovereignty and eroding Russia’s capacity to threaten NATO, it is not the time to ease up. … Helping Ukraine retake its territory means weakening one of America’s biggest strategic adversaries without firing a shot.”
There has been a growing divide among GOP lawmakers over whether the United States should continue to support Ukraine’s efforts to fight the Russian invasion. McConnell has been among the GOP voices that have steadfastly supported Ukraine, in stark contrast to former president Donald Trump and some congressional Republicans, who have called for ending or slowing aid to Ukraine.
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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has said he supports Ukraine but not “a blank check,” while hard-right GOP lawmakers such as Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Matt Gaetz (Fla.) have increasingly spoken out against sending aid to Ukraine.
The White House has urged Congress to approve $20.6 billion in additional aid to Ukraine as part of the broader package of roughly $40 billion. McConnell said Wednesday that lawmakers would “have the opportunities” to vote for such aid when considering a short-term spending deal before the end of the month to avoid a shutdown of the federal government on Oct. 1.
On Capitol Hill on Wednesday, McConnell sought to keep his focus on Ukraine despite being peppered with questions on his health. McConnell froze for more than 20 seconds last week while taking questions from reporters after an event in Covington, Ky. It was the GOP leader’s second such incident this summer, after he suffered a concussion in March, and it reignited questions about his health and ability to serve in the Senate.
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On Tuesday, his office released a letter from the attending physician of Congress, Brian P. Monahan, saying there is “no evidence” that McConnell’s episodes were caused by a seizure disorder.
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Pressed Wednesday by reporters about his health during a weekly news conference at the Capitol, McConnell said that he has “nothing to add” about his health and that all questions should be answered by Monahan’s letter.
Asked if he had any comment on demands from some in the Republican Party that he step down, McConnell said he had “no announcements to make.”
“I’m going to finish my term as leader,” he said, before ending the news conference.
Earlier Wednesday, McConnell privately addressed Senate Republicans during the group’s weekly luncheon. Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) declined to share specific details on what was discussed but noted that McConnell was “strong, sharp.”
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“I think everybody left feeling very good about where he’s at,” he said.
Sen. John Cornyn (Tex.) said McConnell told Republicans at their closed-door lunch that his freezing incidents are connected to his concussion earlier this year.
“It boils down to this is just a little harder to recover from a concussion when you’re 81 years old,” Cornyn said.
When asked if he expects McConnell to continue serving as leader through 2026, Thune said, “That’s way out there.”
“Right now we’re just trying to get from week to week,” he said.
Leigh Ann Caldwell contributed to this report.
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