Zelenskiy unable to attend Senate briefing on Ukraine aid; Schumer blames Republicans for impasse – as it happened

Things are looking grim for the prospect of Congress approving new aid to Ukraine before the current tranche of military assistance is exhausted at the end of the year. Republicans, most notably House speaker Mike Johnson and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, spent today making it plain that they won’t support any further aid unless a compromise is reached on changes to border policies to crack down on migrant crossings – the sorts of proposals Democrats refuse to entertain. Democrats are furious, with Senate leader Chuck Schumer accusing the GOP of “hostage taking” that Ronald Reagan would not approve of.

Here’s what else went on:

• Volodymyr Zelenskiy was scheduled to make a video address to senators, but canceled unexpectedly, and also did not attend a briefing to House lawmakers. Top Ukrainian officials, including chief of staff Andriy Yermak, were reportedly at the Capitol in his stead.

• The House will vote on formalizing the impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden next week, which Johnson said will protect the investigation against court challenges.

• Republican senator Tommy Tuberville dropped his blockade of most military promotions, which he started in February to protest a Pentagon policy helping service members access abortions.

• Johnson will release footage of the January 6 insurrection recorded by House surveillance cameras – but with rioters’ faces blurred out, so they aren’t prosecuted, he said.

• Patrick McHenry, the North Carolina Republican who was briefly the acting House speaker after Kevin McCarthy’s overthrow, announced he will not seek re-election.

Democrat Jack Reed chairs the Senate armed services committee, and in a statement simultaneously condemned Republican senator Tommy Tuberville for blocking military promotions while cheering his decision to end the blockade:

The top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell says he is encouraging his party’s lawmakers to oppose a bill that would approve military assistance to Ukraine and Israel but does not include the changes to border policy that the GOP is demanding.

The Senate’s Democratic leader Chuck Schumer announced earlier today that he would on Wednesday hold a procedural vote on legislation itoapprove the military aid, which Joe Biden request in October. But such a bill would require the support of a least nine Republicans to pass the Senate, and the GOP is demanding the inclusion of provisions to restart border wall construction and prevent many asylum seekers from entering the United States.

Even though a growing number of Republicans are opposed to continuing aid to Kyiv, McConnell has previously argued the money is necessary to counter Russia – but now says changing border policy is equally essential:

CNN reports that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy also did not attend a briefing for House lawmakers that he was scheduled to address virtually:

Earlier in the day, Politico reported that his chief of staff Andriy Yermak as well as Ukraine’s defense minister and the speaker of parliament were on Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy will not be able to attend a scheduled briefing of senators on the situation in the country, the Senate’s Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said.

“Zelenskiy, by the way, could not make it … something happened at the last minute,” Schumer said. The Ukrainian leader was scheduled to virtually address the classified briefing for all senators at 3pm.

Schumer said earlier in the day that the Senate would hold a vote on legislation to approve more military aid to Ukraine, but the package is opposed by Republicans who are demanding stricter immigration policies.

Republican senator Tommy Tuberville has agreed to end his blockade of most military promotions in protest of a Pentagon policy paying expenses for some service members who travel to seek abortions, Reuters reports.

Tuberville’s blockade began in February after the defense department announced the abortion policy, but has come under increasing fire from both Democrats and Republicans alike for endangering US national security by preventing the military from filling high-ranking command posts.

The senator has lifted his holds of the promotion of about 400 officers, as well as other lower-ranked positions, Reuters reports, but continues to block a handful of high-ranking positions.

“I’ve still got a hold on, I think, 11 four-star generals. Everybody else is completely released by me,” Tuberville said. “It was pretty much a draw. They didn’t get what they wanted. We didn’t get what we wanted.”

Having been booted from the House, big-time liar George Santos has apparently moved on to a new career, but that did not stop him from falling for one Democrat’s prank, the Guardian’s Gloria Oladipo reports:

Pennsylvania senator John Fetterman enlisted a Cameo video from disgraced lawmaker George Santos in “support” of the also-disgraced New Jersey senator Bob Menendez, with Santos telling Menendez to “stay strong” amid his legal woes.

In a rare example of bipartisan financial support, Fetterman paid Santos, a Republican, $200 for the personalized video as a prank. Santos did not know the “Bobby” he was recording the video for was Menendez.

Santos was expelled from the House of Representatives on Friday following a scathing ethics report that detailed his misuse of campaign funds. Ever since he has been selling videos on Cameo, a website that allows users to buy short, personalized videos from celebrities.

On X, Fetterman said he wanted to provide Menendez with “encouragement” amid the “substantial legal problems” the New Jersey senator faces.

“So, I approached a seasoned expert on the matter to give ‘Bobby from Jersey’ some advice,” Fetterman wrote on X.

Anti-Trump Republican Liz Cheney is considering jumping to the presidential race as a third-party candidate to stop the former president from winning another term in office, the Guardian’s Edward Helmore reports:

Liz Cheney, a leading Republican critic and antagonist of Donald Trump, has said she is considering mounting her own third-party candidacy for the White House, as part of her effort to thwart the former president from returning to the Oval Office.

In her most explicit public statements to date on a potential presidential run, Cheney told the Washington Post on Tuesday she would do “whatever it takes” to block a Trump return.

Cheney, the daughter of former Republican vice-president Dick Cheney, has previously floated the idea. But she had never explicitly stated if she was thinking of running as a semi-moderate Republican party candidate or would run as an independent.

“Several years ago, I would not have contemplated a third-party run,” Cheney said in the interview. “I happen to think democracy is at risk at home, obviously, as a result of Donald Trump’s continued grip on the Republican party, and I think democracy is at risk internationally as well.”

Cheney echoed that sentiment in remarks with USA Today. She said: “I certainly hope to play a role in helping to ensure that the country has … a new, fully conservative party. And so whether that means restoring the current Republican party, which looks like a very difficult if not impossible task, or setting up a new party, I do hope to be involved and engaged in that.”

Things are looking grim for the prospect of Congress approving new aid to Ukraine before the current tranche of military assistance is exhausted at the end of the year. Republicans, most notably House speaker Mike Johnson, have spent today making it plain that they won’t support any further aid unless a compromise is released on changes to border policies to crack down on migrant crossings – the sorts of proposals Democrats refuse to entertain. Democrats are furious, with Senate leader Chuck Schumer accusing the GOP of “hostage taking” that Ronald Reagan would not approve of.

Here’s what else has been going on today:

• The House will vote on formalizing the impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden next week, which Johnson said will protect the investigation against court challenges.

• Republican senator Tommy Tuberville may or may not be about to drop his blockade of military promotions.

• Johnson will release footage of the January 6 insurrection recorded by House surveillance cameras – but with rioters’ faces blurred out, so they aren’t prosecuted, he said.

North Carolina Republican Patrick McHenry, who unexpectedly found himself leading the House for three weeks after Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker in October, has announced he will retire from Congress.

McHenry will have served for two decades by the time he steps down at the end of next year, and three weeks of that period was spent as acting speaker until the chamber elected Mike Johnson as McCarthy’s replacement later in October.

McHenry’s western North Carolina district is seen as strongly Republican, meaning he is unlikely to be replace by a Democrat. From his statement announcing his retirement:

I will be retiring from Congress at the end of my current term. This is not a decision I come to lightly, but I believe there is a season for everything and—for me—this season has come to an end.

Past, present, and future, the House of Representatives is the center of our American republic. Through good and bad, during the highest of days and the lowest, and from proud to infamous times, the House is the venue for our nation’s disagreements bound up in our hopes for a better tomorrow. It is a truly special place and—as an American—my service here is undoubtedly my proudest. Since being sworn in January 3rd^, 2005, I have worked everyday to uphold the Constitution and the system of government our founders so wisely created.

…

There has been a great deal of handwringing and ink spilled about the future of this institution because some—like me—have decided to leave. Those concerns are exaggerated. I’ve seen a lot of change over twenty years. I truly feel this institution is on the verge of the next great turn. Whether its 1974, 1994, or 2010, we’ve seen the House evolve over time. Evolutions are often lumpy and disjointed but at each stage, new leaders emerge. There are many smart and capable members who remain, and others are on their way. I’m confident the House is in good hands.

House Republicans will next week hold a vote to formalize their impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden, CNN reports:

Former speaker Kevin McCarthy announced the start of the investigation in September, which centers on thus-far unproven allegations of corruption against the president in connection to his family members’ overseas business dealings.

The House has thus far held one hearing as part of the inquiry, in which Republican-invited witnesses said they were not aware of any criminal activity by the president, but said the investigation was worth continuing.

In a press conference today, the chamber’s Republican leader Mike Johnson said the vote is necessary to establish its authority to investigate the president:

Reports have emerged that Republican senator Tommy Tuberville will drop his months-long blockade of most military officer promotions.

According to CNN, the senator announced a press conference where he was expected to end to his campaign, only to quickly cancel it in favor of more informal remarks to reporters:

Tuberville announced the blockade in February in protest of a Pentagon policy that will help active duty service members travel to seek abortions, if they are stationed in areas where the procedure is not accessible.

The senator’s effort was criticized by Democrats and an increasing number of Republicans as jeopardizing national security by leaving important officer roles in the military unfilled. Last month, GOP lawmakers confronted him on the Senate floor about his blockade, while the chamber moved forward with a plan that would allow them to circumvent it:

In yet another dismal sign for the prospects of Congress approving more military aid that Ukraine says it needs to fend off Russia’s invasion, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said Republican “hostage taking” brought negotiations to a standstill.

Schumer’s remarks on the Senate floor were an indication that the two parties are far apart on an agreement on aid to Kyiv, with the New York Democrat blaming the GOP for insisting on passing immigration policies championed by Donald Trump – which his party’s lawmakers will never support.

“If Republicans are unable to produce a broadly bipartisan immigration proposal, they should not block aid to Ukraine in response. They should not be resorting to hostage taking,” Schumer said. “That would be madness, utter madness. It would be an insult to our Ukrainian friends who are fighting for their lives against Russian autocracy. And it could go down as a major turning point where the West didn’t live up to its responsibilities and things turned away from our democracies and our values and towards autocracy.”

He closed with a reference to Ronald Reagan, the Republican former president known for his opposition to the Soviet Union in the 1980s:

Ronald Reagan would be rolling in his grave – rolling in his grave – if he saw his own party let Vladimir Putin roll through Europe.

So, once again, I urge my Republican colleagues to think carefully about what’s at stake with this week’s vote. What we do now will reverberate across the world for years and decades to come.

And history – history – will render harsh judgment on those who abandoned democracy for Donald Trump’s extreme immigration policies.