WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Facing a torrent of criticism from conservatives, Senate Republicans on Monday resisted advancing on a bipartisan proposal intended to clamp down on illegal border crossings, signaling a likely defeat in Congress that would leave leaders with no clear path to approve wartime aid for Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a dramatic turnaround, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell recommended to GOP senators in a closed-door meeting that they vote against the first procedural vote Wednesday, according to two people familiar with the meeting who were not authorized to talk publicly about it and spoke anonymously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It came just hours after the Kentucky Republican had urged colleagues on the Senate floor that \u201cit\u2019s now time for Congress to take action.\u201d But McConnell has struggled to marshal his conference to support the package of\u00a0$118 billion package<\/a>\u00a0of border enforcement policy and funding for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Senate negotiators on Sunday<\/a>\u00a0night released the text of the bill, hoping that the details would win over skeptics. The carefully negotiated deal represented a rightward shift in Senate negotiations over border measures, yet the backlash was still intense from conservatives. They savaged the border policy proposal as insufficient, with former President Donald Trump leading the charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As they returned to the Capitol Monday, many Senate Republicans \u2014 even those who have expressed support for Ukraine aid and the contours of the border policy changes \u2014 raised doubts they would support advancing the package. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has planned to hold a\u00a0key test vote<\/a>\u00a0Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe actions here in the next few days are an inflection point in history,\u201d the New York Democrat said in a floor speech. \u201cThe security of our nation and of the world hangs in the balance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Schumer worked closely with McConnell on the border security package after the Republican leader had insisted on the pairing as a way to win\u00a0support for Ukraine aid<\/a>. The Democratic leader urged his colleagues across the aisle to \u201ctune out the political noise\u201d and vote yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor years, years our Republican colleagues have demanded we fix the border. And all along they said it should be done through legislation. Only recently did they change that when it looks like we might actually produce legislation,\u201d Schumer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Republicans expressed deep divisions on the bill. During a 90-minute, closed-door meeting Monday evening, their discussion turned to shouting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTime out!\u201d said Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a retired lieutenant general in the Iowa Army National Guard, during one exchange. \u201cAt ease!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n GOP senators emerged saying they were not likely to vote to move forward during the Wednesday test vote and wanted to debate changes to the bill \u2014 a demand that would further delay any definitive action on the legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think the Wednesday vote is going to be, for most of our members, too early,\u201d said South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the second-ranked Republican leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sen. Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, predicted that the Wednesday tally would fall short of the 60 votes needed. After exiting an earlier meeting with other GOP leaders, he told reporters, \u201cI think the proposal is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both McConnell and Schumer have emphasized for months the\u00a0urgency of approving tens of billions of dollars<\/a>\u00a0for Ukraine\u2019s fight, saying that the U.S.’s ability to buttress democracies around the world was at stake. Yet with the funding stuck in Congress, the Defense Department has halted shipments of ammunition and missiles to Kyiv.<\/p>\n\n\n\n House Speaker Mike Johnson has already<\/a> called the proposal \u201cdead on arrival\u201d if it passes the Senate, but Biden urged the Republican speaker to \u201cpay attention to what the Senate\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Biden, speaking to reporters at a Las Vegas meeting with members of a culinary union, noted that Congress has not approved his funding requests for more Border Patrol agents and immigration judges to handle the number of migrants. \u201cWe need help,\u201d he said. \u201cWhy won\u2019t they give me the help?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The White House has also said Biden would veto a House bill that would only send military aid to Israel, criticizing it as a \u201ccynical political maneuver\u201d that excludes funding for Ukraine, the border and other national security needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n