Senate Ukraine briefing descends into chaos ahead of major vote on aid

Senate Republicans abruptly left a classified briefing on Ukraine on Tuesday after an explosive argument broke out among senators over border talks, which top GOP leaders are insisting must be included in any supplemental legislation to gain their support.

The last-ditch appeal to senators for tens of billions more in emergency funding for Ukraine went off the rails earlier in the day after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would be unable to attend the briefing via confidential video call, arranged at the direction of Biden administration officials.

ARIZONA BORDER CROSSING CLOSES IN RESPONSE TO SURGE OF THOUSANDS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

The closed-door briefing with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff C.Q. Brown, and U.S. Agency for International Development Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman comes ahead of a critical test vote on $110.5 billion of national security supplemental funding on Wednesday.

The briefing descended into chaos after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) attempted to change the subject and asked Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) to speak about the Republican pitch for a U.S. border plan to go alongside the funding, according to sources familiar.

Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via AP

“It was immediately hijacked by Leader McConnell. The first question, instead of asking our panelists, he called on Lankford to give a five-minute talk about negotiations on the border,” Schumer said, speaking to reporters following the briefing.

Several GOP senators described the briefing as heated after Schumer attempted to offer Republicans a vote on a border amendment of their choosing that would require 60 votes in exchange for advancing the measure. The New York senator made his initial offer of a border security amendment during a weekly press conference with reporters earlier on Tuesday. The deal from Schumer immediately drew sharp GOP criticism.

“Evidently, if we can get 60 votes to secure the southern border, it’ll be part of the bill, which is baloney because the consequence of that is they don’t get the 60 votes and Republicans don’t vote for the final package,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said, speaking to reporters following the briefing.

Lankford, who has been the lead negotiator for Republicans on border talks, called the amendment vote offer “laughable” in an interview with the Washington Examiner.

“We know that game well. It’s just pretend; it’s trying to do some kind of show,” said Lankford.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said tensions escalated immediately after Schumer said the supplemental bill was not a border bill.

“Tom Cotton started yelling — Kevin Cramer, relatively docile, joined in and started yelling,” Lee said.

Republicans complained that the administration was offering repetitious answers on Ukraine and not answering questions about border security.

“The briefers are saying things we’ve all known, you can read about in any newspaper; there’s nothing new in what they are describing,” said Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), who was one of the senators who got into a heated debate with national security officials. “We want to help Ukraine and Israel, but we have to have the Democrats recognize that there’s a trade here, that we stop the open border.”

“Republicans are walking out of the briefing because the people there are not willing to actually discuss what it takes to get a deal done,” Romney added.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

McConnell said Tuesday he will advocate Republican senators to vote against advancing additional aid for Ukraine and Israel.

“We need to make the point, hopefully for the final time, that we insist on meaningful changes to the border,” he said.