Biden warns of "Christmas gift" to Putin as GOP shrugs off Zelensky visit
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's disappointing visit to Capitol Hill confirmed his worst fears: The future of U.S. aid to Ukraine has become firmly affixed to one of the most intractable debates in American politics.
Why it matters: Even Republicans sympathetic to the Ukrainian cause — with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) chief among them — have drawn a red line. There will be no further aid to Ukraine if Democrats do not agree to substantial changes to U.S. border policy.
- McConnell told reporters it would be "practically impossible" for Congress to resolve the standoff before the holidays, punting the fate of Ukraine aid and the border into next year.
- That didn't stop President Biden from demanding that Republicans pass an aid package "before they give Putin the greatest Christmas gift they could possibly give him."
What they're saying: "Russian loyalists in Moscow celebrated when Republicans voted to block Ukraine's aid last week," Biden said at a joint press conference with Zelensky. "If you're being celebrated by Russian propagandists, it might be time to rethink what you are doing."
Driving the news: Zelensky's plea to support Ukrainians fighting for their freedom — an emotional and strategic appeal that has helped unlock major progress in the past — ran into a wall of sympathetic shrugs in Congress.
- "I told President Zelensky, 'Here's the problem: It's got nothing to do with you," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
- House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he told Zelensky "we stand with him and against Putin's brutal invasion," but stressed: "Our first condition on any national security supplemental spending package is about our own national security."
- "We're hearing from the president of Ukraine again, but we've yet to hear from our own president about the border, our border," said Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.).
Between the lines: Zelensky — well-versed in the dangers of wading into U.S. domestic politics — stayed far away from any discussion of the border, even as some Republicans asked him to weigh in, according to Politico.
- Instead, he centered his pitch on the stakes of Ukraine's fight — stressing that his people will never succumb to Russia and that the conflict could devolve into bloody guerrilla warfare if the flow of U.S. aid is halted.
- But given the strong bipartisan majority in Congress that already supports Ukraine, it was clear from the outset that it's up to Biden and Republicans — not Zelensky — to break the gridlock.
State of play: Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas met with Senate negotiators for about two hours Tuesday. Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) touted "progress" as they exited the meeting.
- The White House knocked down a CBS News report suggesting officials had floated new authority to expel migrants without asylum screenings and a sweeping expansion of detention and deportations — but reiterated that Biden is "open to compromise."
- Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), the lead GOP negotiator, signaled that talks could continue through the holidays: "Everyone else would celebrate Christmas but us."
The bottom line: "I don't want you giving up hope," Biden told Zelensky in the Oval Office.
