McConnell tells Senate GOP they are in ‘quandary’ over border and Ukraine package, uncertain about path ahead

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell laid out the growing hurdles facing a national security package amid deep GOP divisions over immigration and Ukraine – and as former President Donald Trump has encouraged Republicans to sink a bipartisan compromise on new border security legislation.

According to a GOP source familiar with the matter, McConnell told Republicans at a private Wednesday meeting that they are in a “quandary,” given that bipartisan talks over immigration have created intraparty feuding and may have closed off a path to getting a massive package approved this Congress.

The fresh doubts from the Senate GOP leader – one of the leading proponents of more aid to Ukraine – suggest Congress may have to punt on the issues altogether or break up the package into individual pieces, though no decisions have been made. McConnell’s goal at the meeting, sources said, was to lay out to his colleagues that there was no clear path ahead unless members were willing to compromise.

The new doubts come as House Republicans – with the encouragement of Trump, who is railing on immigration as a top election issue – are revolting over the bipartisan talks, even before they’ve concluded. Republicans were already divided over whether to approve any aid to Ukraine, even as they have insisted that the border must be dealt with before Ukraine aid can be approved. On top of that, the House Republican demand to pass their border security bill – HR 2 – is a non-starter with Democrats.

The candid assessment underscores the growing fears that Congress won’t be able to approve aid to Ukraine at a critical moment in its war against Russia – or pass any legislation to clamp down on the surge of migrants at the southern border.

During the meeting, McConnell read a quote from Trump in 2018 that cast doubt on Democrats ever voting for border security, a…