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Nov 5, 2023 - Politics & Policy

Graham thinks Senate will pass Israel, Ukraine package despite GOP pushback

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Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday he thinks the Senate will pass a measure combining Israel and Ukraine funding.

Why it matters: The House's Israel-only aid bill quickly hit a dead end last week, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) saying the Senate would "not take up the House GOP's deeply flawed proposal."

Catch up quick: Schumer said the Senate would work on its own bipartisan emergency aid package to include combined funding for Israel and Ukraine as well as "humanitarian aid including for Gaza, and competition with the Chinese Government," per his post last week on X.

  • The failed House measure sought to provide $14.3 billion in military assistance to Israel following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, but did not include any funding for Ukraine.

What he's saying: "I am for Ukraine support. We can't pull the plug on Ukraine, let [Russian President Vladimir] Putin get away with this. There goes Taiwan if you do that. I'm definitely for Israel. So, I think you'll see a package of border security, funding for Ukraine, funding for Israel, coming out of the Senate probably as one package. I would support that," Graham said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday.

  • Graham also said he expects the Senate bill will address security along the U.S.-Mexico border.
  • "It will be insane as a country not to fix our broken border. It's just, you know, we're living on borrowed time in terms of the border being broken and an attack on our own nation," Graham said.

Just last week, Graham said it would be a "huge mistake" to separate Ukraine funding from Israel funding, per CNN.

Zoom out: Combined aid for Israel and Ukraine has been met with pushback, especially among some GOP House members, who have expressed reluctance to continue funding for Ukraine as the country nears two years of war with Russia.

  • Despite some of that hostility, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) doubled down last week on his support for emergency funding for Ukraine.

Go deeper: House passes GOP's $14.3 billion Israel aid package

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