Why McConnell warned Biden on border-Ukraine talks
Two weeks ago, Mitch McConnell delivered a private warning to the White House.
Speaking first with chief of staff Jeff Zients and then with President Joe Biden on Dec. 7, the Senate minority leader said there were just five days to cut a deal linking border security with billions for Ukraine. Otherwise, he warned it would have to wait until next year, according to a person familiar with the conversations.
He took that dose of reality public on Dec. 12, declaring at a press conference that time was up. Those comments reverberated through not just the U.S. Capitol, but also across Europe. It would be “practically impossible” to close a deal this month, he said of funding that he is personally desperate to pass. And a further delay would only inject more uncertainty into the fraught negotiations to assist Ukraine's war effort.
McConnell’s comment might have seemed like a huge blow for Ukraine aid. But barely an hour later, White House officials arrived on Capitol Hill for their first in-person conversation with Senate negotiators, a meeting planned before McConnell went to the microphones.
https://news.yahoo.com/why-mcconnell-warned-biden-border-120000604.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=0_00
