Republicans stand firm on US border demands after voting to block Ukraine aid

Republicans presented a united front yesterday in their demands for more severe changes to immigration policy after they voted in the Senate to block a supplemental funding bill that included financial aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan as well as provisions aimed at bolstering border security.

- Joan E Greve

The vote on Wednesday evening was 49 -51, as every Senate Republican opposed advancing the legislation. Sixty votes were needed to take up the bill. Republicans in both chambers of Congress had demanded stricter border regulations in exchange for their support, and they said the bill failed to meet their requirements. The vote increases the likelihood that Congress will fail to approve more funding for Ukraine before the end of the year, as the White House has warned that Kyiv is desperately in need of more aid.

Democrats were left infuriated, even baffled. Calling it “a sad night in the history of the Senate”, the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, bemoaned the vote as a disappointing reflection on the country, a step away from letting Vladimir Putin “walk right through Ukraine and right through Europe”.

“Republicans just blocked a very much needed proposal to send funding for Ukraine, funding for Israel, humanitarian aid for innocent civilians in Gaza, and funding for the Indo-Pacific,” Schumer said. “If there is a word for what we most need now, it is to be serious. ”