Senate Republicans are scrambling to decide on a path forward for Ukraine aid after a vote to pair the money with border security fell apart on the Senate floor.
The Senate voted 49-50 to block the Ukraine-border bill from moving forward on Wednesday, in effect killing any lingering hope that a bipartisan compromise on immigration could be salvaged.
The conference decided earlier in the week that voting for it, despite the compromise having the blessing of Republican leadership, was pointless given Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had promised it was “dead on arrival” in the House.
But Senate Republicans found themselves in a state of paralysis on Wednesday after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced he would proceed with a Ukraine bill that scrapped the border provisions.
Members huddled in an animated lunch that stretched about two hours as the conference debated its next steps. The immediate question was whether to block a test vote on the borderless Ukraine bill as well.
Republicans are fiercely divided on aid to Ukraine, while other provisions in the defense bill, including humanitarian assistance for Gaza, have become GOP lightning rods.
The only thing clear as the lunch broke was that Republicans wanted more time.
“There’s a pretty strong consensus around that,” Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the Senate minority whip, said as he entered Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) office.
The whip count on Wednesday afternoon was murky, with some pro-Ukraine Republicans expected to vote “yes,” but others on the fence or opposed. Either way, members expected the vote to be close.
“High 50s to low 60s,” Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) speculated on the final vote count. The test vote needs 60 to pass, while an intervening step, called a motion to reconsider, had attracted 58 at time of publication.
The holdup for now is a Republican demand for amendment votes. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), an adviser to McConnell, acknowledged that some members want border-related amendments even after helping tank the bill over what they considered a weak immigration proposal.
He also suggested the measure could be amended to include elements that had fallen out, such as the Afghan Adjustment Act, or, more aspirationally for Republicans, exclude the nonlethal parts of the aid.
“I think it’s a combination of both,” he told the Washington Examiner.
Schumer told reporters on Wednesday morning that he would support a “fair” amendment process, but Senate Republicans are skeptical and want a commitment before agreeing to debate on the bill.
“Well, he says that many times, and then he says, ‘Well, you’ve had two amendments, you’re done,’” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), an adviser to McConnell.
“So, one way to do it would be to negotiate an agreement beforehand, rather than just depend on his good graces and his bad memory on the back end,” he added.
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The intervening vote was approaching the three-hour mark at publication time as the two conferences negotiated over how to bring up the measure.
The Wednesday vote is merely procedural, with Ukraine aid expected to be considered into the Presidents Day recess next week.
