3 key Senate Republicans missed Zelensky meeting
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Three important names were missing from Thursday's Senate huddle with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
- GOP leader hopefuls Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) weren't there. Neither was Sen. John Barrasso, the presumptive next Senate GOP No. 2.
Why it matters: This was likely the last time Sen. Mitch McConnell will be GOP leader for a Zelensky huddle on Capitol Hill.
- He and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are both strong supporters of Ukraine. So is Thune, McConnell's current deputy, whose office said he had a scheduling conflict.
- Barrasso and Scott — who was already in Florida ahead of the incoming hurricane — both voted against the latest Ukraine aid package.
- Former President Trump and Zelensky will meet Friday morning in New York City.
Inside the room: Today's meeting focused on Ukraine's "victory plan" over Russia, sources tell Axios. Senators from both sides raised hard questions about that plan's viability.
- Zelensky told the group Ukraine might not need extra funding from Congress if the U.S. lifts restrictions on its ability to use long-range weapons to strike inside Russia.
- Both parties have been wary of allowing Zelensky to strike deep into Russia, worried it would shift the U.S. from a cold war to a hot war.
- Still, Democrats and Republicans emerged from the meeting urging President Biden to grant Zelensky's request to strike targets within Russia.
Between the lines: One part of the victory plan in which the U.S. can really help move the needle is sanctions enforcement, Zelensky told lawmakers.
The intrigue: Zelensky's recent visit to a plant in Pennsylvania that manufactures ammunition for Ukraine wasn't discussed in the Senate huddle.
- Republicans have called it a political stunt, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) demanded Zelensky fire one of his top diplomats.
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close Trump ally, said he privately raised his concerns that the visit was a "mistake" but added, "hopefully that's behind us."
What they're saying: Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said the administration has been a strong ally but needs to give Zelensky "the permission he needs to strike the Russians deeper inside that country."
- If Zelensky "leaves here, and there's no change in the military strategy to put pressure on Putin, I think it would be the biggest mistake President Biden makes," Graham, an ardent Ukraine supporter, said.
- Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) said he hopes Biden lifts the restrictions on long-range missiles: "We gave them to [Zelensky] for a reason."
