To be sure, the deal could still die in the Senate, and the prospects for a deal in the increasingly xenophobic House remain up in the air, but after this vote, the White House will effectively hold its own course. I got it on track.
“We may not be empty-handed, but it's undetermined,” he said.
The annual security conference has long served as an annual show of transatlantic unity, providing internationalist wings of each party with an opportunity to promote their vision of American leadership.
At a security conference last year, a record number of U.S. lawmakers showed solidarity with Russian President Vladimir Putin and told European allies there was no need to worry about vocal Republicans opposing additional funding for Kiev. appealed to.
“I think too much attention is being focused on a very small number of people who don't seem invested in Ukraine's success,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said last February. He said this before heading to Munich.
But those “very few” have grown in power and for the past four months have blocked efforts by the Biden administration and traditional security hawks in Congress to replenish Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's arsenal.
The outpouring of political support is all coming from one side of the aisle.
In May 2022, 39 Republican senators joined 47 Democrats in voting for a $40 billion security and humanitarian aid package against Zelenskiy, with just 11 Republicans voting against it.
On Thursday, just 17 Senate Republicans, just one-third of the chamber, voted in favor of moving forward with national security discussions along with 50 Democratic caucus members. On Friday, one additional Republican lawmaker voted in favor of a procedural motion to advance the bill.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R.N.C.), one of those who voted yes, said his fellow Republicans need to remain strong in their support for Ukraine, or else the party will look like it will bow to Putin. I warned him that it would happen.
In the coming days, Tillis said, discussions will end in one of two ways. “Enough number [vote yes] Either send it to the House or ultimately get a message from the U.S. Senate that Republicans don't have enough resources to support Ukraine. ”
The Senate debate comes shortly after the European Union reached a unanimous agreement among all 27 member states to send $54 billion to strengthen government services in Ukraine, with the EU not providing sufficient support. It provides a rebuttal to far-right critics of Congress who have always maintained that there is no such thing. For your own safety.
While many of the Senate's 31 Republican opponents do not want to provide funding to Ukraine under any circumstances, some believe that President Biden is precisely He said he would vote for funding only if he accepted the prescription.
Some Republicans made contradictory statements that swayed the political direction.
On Tuesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R.S.C.) held firm on his long-held belief that he wants to topple President Putin at all costs, as larger national security policy falls apart due to partisan divisions over border rules. did.
“If we fail on our borders, we will put our country at risk. Putin's victory in Ukraine will not solve any of our problems, so the world will inevitably fall apart. It will destroy all of our It makes the problem even worse,” Graham told reporters.
Over the years, Mr. Graham has used several previous visits to visit the White House, known as the “McCain Delegation” in honor of the legendary late Sen. John S. McCain (R-Ariz.). has served as co-organizer of the group. Munich reassures allies that Donald Trump's worldview is not entrenched in Washington.
On Tuesday, Mr. Graham was poised to strip away controversial border rules and hand over only money to protect Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. “No matter what you think about borders, if the problem in Ukraine is not managed well, it will exacerbate all the problems we have at home,” he said.
But two days later, he reversed his stance and joined the ranks of MAGA senators who voted against discussing the Ukraine-Israel-Taiwan package and called for a border closure.
“I am a passionate supporter of Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel, but as I have said for months, we must protect America first,” Graham said in a public statement.
Late Thursday, he had a heated discussion on the Senate floor with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who helped lead border negotiations. Graham derided Sinema's group as a “half-hearted effort” to reach a border deal, denying that he and his staff played a regular role in negotiations.
Then he held up a big poster board Polish Prime Minister's social media posts Donald Tusk suggested that President Ronald Reagan would “turn in his grave” because of the attitudes of today's Republicans.
“Shame on you. Polish Prime Minister, I don't care what you think,” Graham shouted.
This is the exact opposite of the message that Tillis, the White House and others want to send to Munich.
“Right now in Ukraine we have people trapped in trenches in the middle of winter, being bombed and killed,” Tillis said. “The signal from the United States about whether we're going to go there is not only important for the morale of the fighters who have been doing the same thing every day for the past two years, but also for the 50-odd countries that are participating. Yes, they are part of this coalition.”
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Delaware) said he expects to hear the same question from European countries next weekend. “Can I count on you?”
But these Republican voices are increasingly being drowned out by new members like Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who went from Trump critic to all-in MAGA theorist and was elected in 2022. It's coming.
Mr. Vance will deliver that blunt message when he attends his first conference in Munich. “First of all, this war is in your backyard,” he said, before accusing Europeans of “effectively turning NATO into a welfare client of the United States.”
Of the 17 Republicans who took office after Trump won the presidency, only two voted to advance security policies centered on Ukraine: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah). ) is already a governor at the age of 76 and served as governor of the same party in 2012. Before he became a senator five years ago, he was a presidential candidate. and Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), an ally of the 2022 elected leaders.
Some Republicans question dire predictions that Russia could crush the small nation if U.S. funding dries up.
“I do not believe that Russia has the ability to occupy all of Ukraine, much less hold it. Before receiving aid to Ukraine. [in 2022], the Russians could not do that,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Thursday. “I think it’s about forcing a negotiated settlement that is much more favorable for President Putin, because he feels emboldened and stronger.”
Other Republicans say that's naive.
“There are pivotal moments in our nation's history where what we do in this chamber really matters,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who co-authored much of the security policy. He said this in a speech on the floor. “How we vote may determine whether a person lives or dies. Whether men and women live under the orders of a dictatorship or as free people in a democracy. Is he alive?”
Tillis, a member of the military committee, said Russia's long-term plan is to weaken American support for the war and dismantle international support for Zelenskiy.
“For us to leave here without the Senate taking up this issue is exactly what President Putin wants to happen this weekend,” he said. “And I'm going to do everything I can to prevent that.”
All of this may lead to nothing in the deeply conservative House, where Republican leaders move in lockstep with Mr. Trump. But the White House remains optimistic that Senate leaders are working to include measures desired by some House Republicans, and that even more major changes could be expected in the days after final Senate passage of the security bill. We hope that there will be a large-scale vote.
That way, your trip across the Atlantic will be much more enjoyable.
The White House said: “We don't think the Munich Security Council delegation will have a lot of egg on its face.”
