McCarthy Pits Ukraine Support Against Border Funding to Avoid Shutdown

On the surface, Congress appeared to make progress toward averting a shutdown last night after the House passed a procedural motion to advance its spending bills and the Senate passed a bill laying the groundwork to extend funding beyond the October 1 deadline.

However, what seemed to be progress was more of the same.

The House's spending bills are unlikely to receive bipartisan support and may not even receive enough support from Republicans to move forward, and the Senate's "continued resolution (CR)" to extend the funding deadline may never end up on President Joe Biden's desk due to its inclusion of $6 billion in funding for the war in Ukraine that many House Republicans oppose.

Despite a majority of House and Senate Republicans supporting Ukraine, Speaker Kevin McCarthy risks losing the support of his hard-right flank by backing the measure. He's now framing the funding battle as an either-or situation.

"If [senators] want to put focus on Ukraine and not focus on the southern border, I think their priorities are backwards," McCarthy told reporters last night.

The border bill Republicans have rallied behind, known as the Secure the Border Act, passed in May along party lines. It provides funding for border agents, resumes construction of the border wall, upgrades border technology, restricts asylum, and reinstates "Remain in Mexico." It has little to no chance of passing the Democratic-controlled House.

Attaching spending provisions to a CR has complicated the situation for McCarthy, whose members could call a "motion to vacate" to oust him as speaker at any time. With several conservatives stating their broad opposition for a CR, it's unclear whether McCarthy has the votes to pass the measure, even if it includes a border bill. If he looks to pass a CR with Democratic support, conservatives have indicated they would call a motion to vacate.

Punchbowl News reported that Senate leadership was originally eyeing a "clean" CR with little to no Ukraine funding. Republican Congressman Michael McCaul of Texas, who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee and supports the Ukraine effort, believes Congress will continue to approve Ukraine funding, but said he didn't know whether it was the "right time" to include the provision in a CR because "it puts the speaker in a very difficult position."

Despite the political conflict over Ukraine in the House, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell has been adamant about the need for additional Ukraine funding. The Kentucky senator has made the issue a consistent topic of focus during his floor speeches, including yesterday when he listed assistance to Ukraine's effort against Russia as one of the issues where his "colleagues are eager to make real progress."

West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito, a member of McConnell's leadership team, supports the ongoing funding of Ukraine and notes that the Senate's proposal keeps funding at its current pace. She sees its approval as a means of buying time while Congress negotiates its disagreements.

"It's billions of dollars, but it's not a huge, large slug, so I think this gives us time to negotiate those issues," Capito told Newsweek. "I think we need to have more discussion. Obviously, there are big problems at the border, and enforcement needs help."

Funding for the border appears to be an issue that has Republicans moving in lockstep. While Senator J.D. Vance has opposed Ukraine funding and was just one of 19 Republicans to vote against last night's Senate bill, the Ohio Republican echoed Capito's call for border funding.

Vance has spoken out against a government shutdown and acknowledged that Republicans cannot get every demand on their wish list during a period of divided government. But he remained confident that his party will be able to walk away with a policy win.

"I think it's reasonable for us to get at least one thing through negotiations," Vance told Newsweek. "Whether that's reduced funding for a weaponized Department of Justice, whether that's meaningful reforms for the border, we should get something out of this negotiation because the American people elected a Republican House of Representatives."