Republican Prepares MAGA for Disappointment on Key Issue

Senator James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, warns MAGA constituents that a border-related bill would not have everything conservatives want.

As some members of Congress push for aid to Ukraine and Israel, GOP members recognize a need to simultaneously address the security of the U.S.-Mexico border.

"Eventually, you've got to have the border fight," Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, told Punchbowl News. "I'm not going to support any of this stuff until I know what's going to happen with our own border."

Lankford is leading a group of Republicans and some Democrats who are attempting to write a border-related bill that could garner the 60 votes needed to get the bill to a vote.

However, this bill will not be a wish list for constituents who believe in former President Donald Trump's Make America Great Again campaign, which in part seeks to implement tough security measures on the southern border.

"We're not trying to over-ask. We're trying to ask, 'What are the things that DHS is also asking for, what are the things that need to be done to actually stop the acceleration of people coming across the border?'" Lankford said, noting that asylum laws would be one issue that the bill addresses.

Lankford added: "Clearly, there's a major problem and the administration knows it and feels it and so do we."

While there is no set deadline in place for the proposal, Lankford is aiming to have it written as soon as possible.

President Joe Biden has requested nearly $106 billion worth of aid, including $61.4 billion for Ukraine and $14.3 billion for Israel to support their war with Palestinian militant group Hamas, following their surprise attack on October 7.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, has been pro-Ukraine throughout its war with Russia, which began in February 2022.

He has shown a willingness to work with Biden and Senate Democrats to get additional aid to Ukraine. On Tuesday, McConnell said that he is "conceptually" on the same page but did acknowledge that for Ukraine funding to get through the chamber, there will also need to be bipartisan support on legislation for the U.S.-Mexico border.

"Democrats will have to accept a really serious U.S.-Mexico border protection bill in order to get our people on board for a comprehensive approach," McConnell said.

Biden's supplemental request also includes $13.6 billion to secure the southern border, however, Republicans have reportedly dismissed it as a continuation of what they view as the administration's failed policies.

Meanwhile, newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson has pushed to separate Biden's aid package, giving Israel a standalone aid package of $14.3 billion.

The new bill, which is set to hit the House floor on Thursday, has received criticism from some Senate Republicans.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, said it would be a "huge mistake" to separate funding for Ukraine and Israel.

"I support the package staying together. I think Secretary Blinken and Austin gave a good answer why we should not break it apart," he told reporters. "At the end of the day, I think all of these conflicts have to be dealt with strongly, and they should be dealt with together."

Senator Mitt Romney, a Republican from Utah, told CNN, "My view is that the substantial majority of members of the House, as well as the substantial majority of senators, support for Ukraine and Israel, combined."

Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, acknowledged her support of a single effort to help Ukraine and Israel during a committee meeting.

"Some have argued for decoupling funding to address these threats and focusing only on the Iranian-backed terrorists who massacred so many Israelis on October 7," Collins said. "We must recognize that our national security interests are being aggressively challenged by all of these authoritarian actors in an effort to dismantle the international order that we established following World War II."

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