Ukraine money likely to be delayed until January, Senate Republican says

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s (Ky.) leadership team, told reporters Monday that additional funding for Ukraine will likely be delayed until 2024 because there isn’t enough time before Christmas to strike a deal on border security.

Asked if there is enough time left in the year to strike a deal on border security reform and military aid for Ukraine, Cornyn answered tersely: “No.” 

Hard-line Republicans in both chambers have insisted that any additional aid for Ukraine be paired with reforms at the southern border, but negotiations on border policy have made little progress.

The Senate is scheduled to start its Christmas recess after this week, and Cornyn doesn’t see much point in senators returning to the Capitol the week of Dec. 18 given the gulf between the Democratic and Republican negotiators over proposed asylum reforms. 

The Texas senator blamed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for the time crunch. 

“I think Sen. Schumer got this started so late that we might just run out of time, so I think it’s going to be a January exercise,” he said.  

Cornyn voiced his skepticism about the prospect of negotiators reaching a deal on border security and aid to Ukraine — the two most controversial elements of a proposed $110 billion emergency foreign aid package — shortly after Senate leaders traded blame over the impasse.  

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has already told Republican senators that he will not be able to pass more money for Ukraine through the House without major reforms to asylum policy.  

Schumer took to the Senate floor Monday afternoon to accuse Republicans for making unreasonable demands in the negotiations over border security.  

“If Republicans keep insisting on Donald Trump’s border policies, then they will be at fault when a deal for Ukraine, Israel and humanitarian aid to Gaza falls apart. Republicans would be giving Vladimir Putin the best gift he could ask for,” Schumer said.  

“Democrats are serious about reaching bipartisan compromise to pass this package. The question is if Republicans are now willing to do the same,” he said. 

McConnell, meanwhile, accused Democrats of not taking seriously the flow of migrants across the border, which set a single-day record last week.  

He noted that the average number of daily border crossings has reached 10,000 and that Customs and Border Protection is releasing 6,600 migrants who entered illegally into the country every day.  

“This is what a crisis looks like. This is what the Democratic leader last week insisted was ‘extraneous’ to America’s national security,” McConnell said. “When it comes to keeping America safe, border security is not a side show. It’s ground zero.”  

Schumer and McConnell have invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to speak to senators in the Capitol at 9 a.m. Tuesday to make a personal appeal for more U.S. military aid.