It can be tempting to read too much into a single Senate roll-call vote. But there really does seem to be something generational going on within the Senate Republican caucus when it comes to last night’s foreign aid supplemental vote.
The average age of those Republican senators voting for the supplemental: 69.
The average age of those Republican senators voting against it: 58.
But drilling down into some specific comparisons makes the trend even more apparent.
The six youngest Republicans, Sens. J.D. Vance (R-OH), 39, Katie Britt (R-AL), 42, Josh Hawley (R-MO), 44, Tom Cotton (R-AR), 46, Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), 46, and Eric Schmitt (R-MO), 48, all voted against the bill.
The five oldest Republicans, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), 90, Mitch McConnell (R-KY), 81, Jim Risch (R-ID), 80, Mitt Romney (R-UT), 76, and John Boozman (R-AR), 73, all voted for the bill.
You can see the youth movement underway looking at state delegations, too.
The aforementioned McConnell was for the bill. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), 61, was against it.
Romney was for the bill. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), 52, was not.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), 72, was for the bill. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), 53, was not.
There is definitely some ideological movement going on here. Paul and Lee have much more skeptical views of foreign aid and defense spending than McConnell and Romney.
But Cotton is a defense hawk’s defense hawk, and he was also a no. Interestingly, Cotton cited the bill’s spending on nondefense aid, specifically the millions directed to the nongovernmental organizations that are helping immigrants illegally infiltrate our southern border. Cotton was never even given a chance to vote that funding out of the bill.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Maybe the real driving force behind the divergence with the Republican caucus is less generational and more cliquish. It was McConnell and his lieutenants who negotiated the Ukraine supplemental with Democrats. Republicans such as Cotton who were not involved in that process may feel like they have no ownership of the outcome.
But that just underscores the real change that is coming soon to the Senate Republican caucus. McConnell and Romney and Grassley are not going to be there forever. A changing of the guard is coming soon.
