Kevin McCarthy's threat to hold up Ukraine aid is worse than it seems
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy couldn’t allow sanity to prevail in Congress for too long, so just after the House voted late Saturday to temporarily keep the government open, he leveled a new threat. The California Republican now says that if Democrats want a new package of aid to Ukraine — which was not included in that government funding bill — they must help pass the GOP “border security” agenda.
But McCarthy’s proposal is about much more than “border security.” If passed, the GOP agenda would dramatically roll back certain types of legal migration to this country and otherwise transform our immigration system in numerous radical, cruel and reckless ways.
That agenda is the Secure the Border Act, which the House passed in May. McCarthy told CBS News on Sunday that the measure should be included in any package that extends aid to Ukraine, noting: “I support being able to make sure Ukraine has the weapons that they need, but I firmly support the border first.” He suggested the Senate should accept the GOP bill.
It’s an absurd demand. As it is, McCarthy and Senate GOP leaders want aid to Ukraine to continue for all kinds of good, substantive reasons, so the speaker is brazenly demanding immense concessions in exchange for something he already supports.
https://wapo.st/3ZHNqJ3
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