‘No apology’: How McConnell’s ‘hard power’ vision won out on foreign aid
After languishing for seven months, the U.S. Senate approved a new foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, securing a legacy-affirming victory for Mitch McConnell and “the currency of hard power.”
The vote, late Tuesday evening, was an overwhelming bipartisan 79 to 18.
Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, a clamorous critic of the package, was curiously absent for the vote.
“The responsibilities of leadership. The value of alliances. The currency of hard power. These are foundational principles,” McConnell said as the Senate reconvened Tuesday to take up the measure.
“And even as loud voices here at home insisted on abandoning the responsibilities of leadership, America stepped up. And the Senate held firm.”
Despite blaring objections from “America First” nationalists and anti-interventionists that stymied the foreign supplemental for months, McConnell’s plodding but persistent case to deploy American power — specifically weapons — to allies under threat won out at least one more time.
McConnell fought pressure from the increasingly anti-interventionist right wing of his GOP caucus and legions of MAGA-allied critics, including Tucker Carlson.
He applied private and incremental public pressure to Mike Johnson, the neophyte House speaker who risked his job in finally acquiescing to votes on the package.
Through uncertain terrain, McConnell kept Ukraine’s cause at the center of his speeches even after a bipartisan border deal fell apart.
And the Kentucky Republican tied the war against Russia to other strategic battles from the Middle East to the Far East.
“I make no apology for taking these linked threats seriously or for urging the Biden Administration and my colleagues in Congress to do the same,” McConnell said after the House votes this weekend allowing the Senate to act. “U.S. leadership remains the essential force behind the peace and prosperity enjoyed by generations of Americans. And this tremendous asset requires our attention and investment.”
He also witnessed world events reinforce his case on swirling aggression.
The House’s sudden urgency to take action on the supplemental came just after Iran’s attack on Israel. It was a clarifying moment in the domestic debate that widened the aperture from Israel’s campaign in Gaza to a broader view of Iran as a destabilizing actor in the Middle East.
The $26 billion for Israel has more support than the $60 billion for Ukraine, but there’s a shorter leap to acknowledging that Iran’s threat is analogous to Russia’s.
“All members of Congress have been briefed repeatedly on Iran’s steady supply of lethal aid to Russia for its use in Ukraine. Given the clear connection between the Iran and Russia threats, it would have been challenging for members to vote for emergency aid to support one partner and not the other,” said Dana Stroul, the research director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
The $95 billion package will supply shells and air defense systems to Ukraine that some analysts predict will arm them for about a year and halt Russia’s ability to achieve complete victory.
But the opponents to the U.S. proxy war against Russia won’t be going away quietly.
Kentucky Reps. Andy Barr and Thomas Massie sparred on the social media platform X over the package, encapsulating the GOP divide on prioritizing foreign intervention over domestic problems.
“You voted to send $60 billion to Ukraine today in exchange for nothing from the Senate,” Massie fumed to Barr. “Speaker Johnson never tried to attach border security to this bill.
“Maybe it’s time to quit blaming conservatives for your votes.”
Watching on X, Joshua Hudson of Paris, Ky., took to the social media platform to air his frustrations. The Herald-Leader reached out to Hudson to ask what he thought of the positions of Kentucky’s delegation.
Hudson said he voted for Barr in the past but said he would no longer do so, given that Lexington’s congressman shares McConnell’s worldview.
“He’s a low-charisma, uniparty-establishment-dullard who turned his back on his constituents in return for a seat under the table, serving the McConnellites while they feast on the corpse of the American Dream,” Hudson said. “I’m personally committed to flipping at least 100 votes against [Barr].
“Even though I disagree with all of the Democrat candidates on at least one major issue, at least they’ll try to represent the great state of Kentucky. I’m not too worried about a farmer from Kentucky selling out to Israel.”
But in Congress, McConnell has always known the math and benefited from it.
The anti-interventionist wing in his party is growing louder and more recalcitrant, but it remains a minority.
“I take no pleasure in rebutting misguided fantasies,” McConnell said. “At the same time, I will not mince words when members of my own party take the responsibilities of American leadership lightly.”
The Senate’s first vote on the package back in February tallied 70 votes, including 22 Republicans. A cloture vote to move forward with the legislation received 30 GOP votes. By the time of the final vote Tuesday night, the number of GOP senators who got to “YEA” was 33.
“I think we’ve turned the corner on this isolationist movement,” McConnell said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon, noting that he was able to secure a higher percentage of support from Senate Republicans than in the House.
This story was originally published April 24, 2024 at 5:00 AM with the headline "‘No apology’: How McConnell’s ‘hard power’ vision won out on foreign aid."
