Tuberville says no money for Ukraine until the border is secure

Early morning on Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to provide emergency military aid to Ukraine, Israel, and other foreign allies. The Democratic legislation passed with the support of more than a dozen Republicans on board. U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) was staunchly opposed to the legislation. Following passage Tuberville released a statement in which he said that: "Our Priority Should Be Securing Our Border, Not A War In Eastern Europe."

Tuberville has been highly critical of the Biden Administration's Ukraine police and has been skeptical of Ukraine's ability to win the war.

"I'm one of the only senators who hasn't voted for a dime of Ukraine funding-and I'm not going to start now," said Sen. Tuberville. "Just two months ago the Senate Republican conference spoke with one voice, and said that we should not give any more money to Ukraine until we secured our southern border. I still believe that. Now should be a time for diplomacy, as we face emerging priorities around the world, such as the possibility of regional war in the Middle East and threats to Taiwan. We are borrowing $80,000 per second and this bill would only increase that number if it somehow became law. Leadership requires priorities, and our priority right now should be our southern border, not a land war in eastern Europe in which we have no strategic interest at stake. This bill will likely not pass the House of Representatives. Therefore, this was simply a messaging exercise-and with a message that the American people have roundly rejected, and are only rejecting in greater numbers by the day."

The bill now goes to the U.S. House of Representatives for their consideration; but the bill – in the form that it left the Senate anyway – appears to be dead in the House on arrival. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) rejected the bipartisan Senate proposal on Monday. Johnson's opposition to the proposal after weeks of intense negotiations in the Senate raised new questions about how - or if - Congress will adopt the assistance ahead of November's elections.

"The absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters," Johnson said Monday night in a statement. "America deserves better than the Senate's status quo."

The rejection of the deal just hours before final passage in the Senate was a blow for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), who had made securing more funding for Ukraine's beleaguered military forces a priority.

Former President Donald J. Trump (R) also opposes the aid.

Ukraine has been fighting for two years against Russia's invasion.

It is still possible that Ukraine supporters in both parties could circumvent Johnson and force the foreign aid supplemental to the floor through a discharge petition. Failing that, Democrats may have to agree to securing the U.S. southern border – something they have been staunchly opposed to. The other option would be to urge Ukraine to agree to a negotiated peace with Russia that likely would mean yielding Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk and other territories to Russia permanently and agreeing to give up joining NATO and the European Union – a stance that the Biden Administration has been unwilling to even consider.

Tommy Tuberville was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2020,

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