‘We Can’t Get an Outcome’: McConnell Concedes Trump-Fueled GOP Opposition Has Killed Senate’s Bipartisan Border Deal

Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) conceded on Tuesday that the bipartisan border deal he championed in the U.S. Senate is not going to become law and urged Congress to pass separate measures to fund military aid to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.

CNN’s Boris Sanchez broke the news in the afternoon, saying, “Senate Minority Leader Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters moments ago that the immigration and foreign aid package will not become law, due to Speaker Mike Johnson’s opposition and concerns within the Senate Republican Conference.”

“This now begs the question, Brianna, is this about opposing the policy itself? What’s actually in the text of the bill, or capitalizing on a serious problem to win votes?” Sanchez concluded, referring to former President Donald Trump publicly opposing the bill so as not to give President Joe Biden a “win.”

CNN’s Manu Raju reported McConnell’s comments on X (formerly Twitter), writing that he “[a]sked Mitch McConnell if he blames Trump for expected defeat of Senate border bill like Joe Biden did.”

“I’ve said repeatedly every month, I’m not going to get into comments about the race for the presidency among Republicans,” McConnell replied to Raju, adding:

I think in the end, even though the product was approved by the border council that endorsed President Trump, most of our members feel that we’re not going to be able to make a law here, and if we’re not going to be able to make a law, they’re reluctant to go forward.

Raju noted McConnell urged separating foreign military aid from the immigration bill – despite combining the two measures in the first place was a GOP priority.

“There are other parts of this supplemental that are extremely important as well: Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan. We still, in my view, ought to tackle the rest of it, because it’s important. Not that the border isn’t important, but we can’t get an outcome. So that’s where I think we ought to head,” McConnell told Raju.

Watch the clip above via CNN.