Mitch McConnell is abandoning his typically cautious style when it comes to aiding Ukraine, shrugging off potshots at his leadership and expending political capital for the embattled country despite a painful rift in the party.
McConnell is at odds with new Republican Speaker Mike Johnson, who wants to split off Israel aid from Ukraine funding rather than pass a sweeping national security package. And the Senate GOP leader faces brewing discontent within his own conference, which is buzzing over whether to stick with McConnell or side with conservatives who want a strategy change on Ukraine.
McConnell’s public and private lobbying efforts to greenlight tens of billions of dollars in Ukraine assistance is a sharp deviation from his usual more reserved, consensus-building approach. He’s going to significant lengths to win over reluctant GOP senators and is on a collision course with the new speaker.
On Monday, McConnell will appear alongside Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, at the University of Louisville to again publicly commit the United States to Kyiv’s defense against Russia, a striking move amid the intraparty tension. That follows Sunday show appearances — a rarity for the minority leader — and public and private remarks in the Senate over the past week stumping for a sweeping aid request tying together help for Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine as well as border security.
It’s too early to count out McConnell, who some suspect could be in his last term leading the Senate GOP — and Ukraine could be a huge part of his legacy. What’s more, this moment marks what’s almost certainly the last congressional battle over Ukraine assistance until the presidential election.
It’s also entirely possible he has to reevaluate the best strategy for Ukraine. For now, as one GOP senator put it: “I don’t think there’s much appetite” for McConnell’s envisioned security package.
“He came through the Cold War era and is a profound believer that this is a moment in history that the United States needs to assert leadership. And that if we don’t, there are going to be some pretty grave consequences,” said Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.), who wants to shave down the size of the package but otherwise agrees with McConnell.
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