Free Republic

The bipartisan border deal that is dividing congressional Republicans is already leading to angry calls to shake up the Senate leadership and furious claims by Donald Trump that it represents a 'death wish' for the party in 2024. The fury came in the hours since negotiators put out details on their new bipartisan deal to provide new authority for the administration to 'close' the border when crossings spike, while sending billions to support allies Ukraine and Israel. Among those to heap the most scorn on the agreement was Utah Sen. Mike Lee – who even appeared to demand a change...

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) will face one of the toughest challenges of his career this week when he tries to muster Senate Republicans to vote for a Ukraine funding and border security package that former President Trump wants to kill. McConnell’s initial goal, according to Senate GOP colleagues, was to get a border security deal that would have the support of at least half of his conference, which numbers 49 members. It now appears the defense supplemental spending bill, which includes the border security provisions as well as funding for Ukraine, Israel and Indo-Pacific security, will get less...

President Biden insists that "it's the Republicans who are responsible for the mess at the border. They won't give me the money I need to hire the Border Patrol officers and judges to keep the flow moving. If I had the money all the migrants stuck in Texas could've been distributed to states that currently have a shortage and the crisis would be over." House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) disagreed, saying "there are already laws on the books authorizing the President to prevent the illegal entry through our borders. The crisis stems from the President's refusal to enforce these laws....

Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell is reportedly backing away from his pro-migration border bill amid a mutiny by multiple GOP Senators. “MCCONNELL told a closed meeting of Senate Republicans Wed[nesday afternoon] that the politics of the border has flipped for R[epublicans]s and cast doubt on linking Ukraine and border,” Punchbowl News reported early Wednesday evening. The report added: McConnell referred to [Donald] Trump as “the nominee” and noted the former president wants to run his 2024 campaign centered on immigration. And the GOP leader said, “We don’t want to do anything to undermine him.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) on Wednesday slammed the climate agenda of President Joe Biden's administration as "bad for America" after it delayed approval for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. His speech on the Senate floor came after the administration directed the Department of Energy to withhold approval of the proposed Calcasieu Pass 2, which would be the largest natural gas export terminal in America, in order to evaluate its climate, economic, and national security impacts. The review, which could also determine the fate of 16 other proposed projects of the same nature, may extend past the...

Sen. Mitch McConnell referred to Donald Trump as “the nominee,” a monumental admission from the Trump antagonist who has largely refused to even utter Trump’s name for over three years. McConnell made his comments to his Senate Republican colleagues during a Wednesday meeting where he lamented the changing dynamics of efforts to pair a border package with foreign aid, according to Punchbowl News.

Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is quietly pressuring GOP Senators to promise their support for his border bill before it is released to the public for debate. Multiple media reports say the still-secret bill is largely complete. But its release has been delayed until McConnell can lock in at least 20 of the 49 GOP Senators, perhaps by making minor changes. The draft bill is also being reviewed by the Senate’s Committee on Appropriations because the Biden administration wants roughly $15 billion to operate its migration program in 2024. The money is needed by Democrats to process, transport, feed,...

After Wednesday’s meeting at the White House with President Biden and 20 congressional leaders, McConnell declared that he was done trying to placate Ukraine skeptics in Johnson’s conference. There’s roughly $110 billion on the table that would bolster Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s defense against Russia, along with helping Israel and Taiwan, and provide billions of dollars to shore up the U.S. border along Mexico.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) told reporters Wednesday that he expects the Senate to consider a bipartisan deal on Ukraine funding and border security next week. McConnell noted that Democrats control the Senate agenda but he stated his confidence that negotiators will unveil a deal on border security in the next few days. “My assumption is we’re likely to be on that in the Senate next week,” he announced. GOP leaders say the remaining sticking point is a disagreement over President Biden’s authority to parole migrants encountered at the southern border into the country.

Sen. John Thune (R-SD) has locked arms with President Joe Biden in calling for a deal to surrender to unlimited migration that would include tens of billions in foreign aid to Ukraine. The retreat would hand the White House a key election year win and surrender the best leverage Republicans have had in decades to make substantive changes in border policies that could alleviate one of the American people’s greatest concerns potentially for generations. Senate negotiators have led efforts for months to pair some sort of border security package with billions of supplemental funding, primarily to advance Ukraine’s floundering war...

The GOP’s Senate leadership is preparing to betray their voters on President Joe Biden’s migration flood, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), told Fox News on Tuesday.The still-secret draft deal “is a sellout — it’s going to continue to allow illegal immigration ” because Democrats are threatening Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) with an aid cut-off for Ukraine, Paul said before adding:It’s saying, “Oh, we’ll let 5,000 people come illegally a day, and then after that, we might try to stop the next 5,000 that day.” It’s completely a sellout.But it’s because people like Senator [Mitch] McConnell care more about Ukraine than anything...

The GOP’s Senate leadership is preparing to betray their voters on President Joe Biden’s migration flood, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), told Fox News on Tuesday. The still-secret draft deal “is a SELLOUT — it’s going to continue to allow illegal immigration ” because Democrats are threatening Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) with an aid cut-off for Ukraine, Paul said before adding: snip It’s completely a sellout. But it’s because people like Senator [Mitch] McConnell care more about Ukraine than anything else — more than the border, more than anything else. He wants to send $60 billion of your money to Ukraine....

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), 81, earned the lowest overall rating of any lawmaker in Congress, dropping six points in one year to a mere 6% approval, a Monmouth University poll recently found. Under McConnell’s Senate leadership, the national debt has soared more than $30 trillion ($101,196 per American), illegal immigration has continued, real wages for American workers have remained stagnant, Obamacare was enacted in 2010, big banks were bailed out in 2008, and social media companies have silenced individuals without repercussions. Dr. Anthony Fauci remains unaccountable for allegedly twice lying to Congress.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky will come up empty in his latest swing through the U.S. Capitol. Negotiations on additional American aid to Ukraine paired with a border security package are dead for 2024, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly told his fellow Senate Republicans at their weekly lunch Tuesday. NEWS: McConnell told Senate R’s during lunch just now that the Ukraine/border talks are not going anywhere this year, and that it’ll be punted to January, per attendees. Echoes what Lankford has been saying publicly but notable that it’s coming from McConnell. — Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) December 12, 2023

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is scheduled to huddle again with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Wednesday as conservatives grow increasingly worried about McConnell’s influence over the House agenda. Johnson is expected to join Republican senators during their weekly Wednesday lunch before a private meeting with McConnell. NEWS — Speaker Johnson is expected to meet with Senate Republicans at their lunch tomorrow, per sources. Reporting w/ @bresreports — Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) November 28, 2023

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Monday endorsed the House GOP’s funding plan to prevent a government shutdown this week as a “responsible measure that will keep the lights on.” At the same time, he stressed the need for “supplemental resources” as lawmakers press for aid to Israel and Ukraine. “Regular order requires that Congress provide itself the time for careful consideration and thorough amendment,” McConnell said from the floor Monday. “I’m glad to see that [Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)] has produced a continuing resolution that would do exactly that.”

The House is under new management but is operating under business as usual as it prepares to pass a continuing resolution (CR) that once again extends spending levels and policies pushed through by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in last December’s lame duck session. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is moving a laddered CR that extends current spending levels for Agriculture, Energy and Water, Military Construction-VA and Transportation-HUD spending bills through January 19 with the remaining eight bills extended through February 2.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell recently said former President Ronald Reagan would "turn over in his grave" at the current GOP's views on helping Ukraine win its war against Russia. McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine since Russia invaded the Eastern European country in February 2022. Most recently, he has shown a willingness to work with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, on President Joe Biden's request of nearly $106 billion worth of aid, which includes $61.4 billion for Ukraine and $14.3 billion for Israel to support its war with Palestinian militant...

Former President Donald Trump largely blamed Republican Daniel Cameron’s gubernatorial loss in Kentucky to the attorney general’s ties to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), stating that he warned Cameron it would be a “big burden to overcome.”###“Daniel Cameron lost because he couldn’t alleviate the stench of Mitch McConnell. I told him early that’s a big burden to overcome,” Trump said.“McConnell and Romney are Kryptonite for Republican Candidates,” Trump continued. “I moved him up 25 Points, but the McConnell relationship was ‘too much to bear.'”Trump still recognized GOP victories elsewhere, congratulating Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves for his reelection, stating that...