McConnell Urges Speaker to Hold Vote on Ukraine Aid Package

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., urged House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to allow a vote on a Ukraine aid package that Johnson has steadfastly scorned.

In an interview with Politico, McConnell appeared to challenge Johnson, who was unmoved Monday about legislation that omits a border fix component and appeared ready to reject it without a full House vote.

“In the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters,” Johnson said in a statement Monday.

The Senate legislation provides billions of dollars in military assistance for Ukraine and Israel, among other foreign aid provisions passed early Tuesday, with more than a dozen Republicans on board.

“We’ve heard all kinds of rumors about whether the House supports Ukraine or doesn’t,” McConnell told Politico. “It seems to me that the easy way to solve that would be to vote. And I hope the speaker will find a way to allow the House to work its will on the issue of Ukraine aid and the other parts of the bill as well.”

In a separate statement, McConnell praised the bill’s passage as historic.

“For three years, a policy of hesitation, short-sightedness, and self-deterrence led the world to wonder whether the United States still has the resolve to face growing, coordinated threats,” he said. “History settles every account. And today, on the value of American leadership and strength, history will record that the Senate did not blink.”