Senate Democrats plan renewed push for Ukraine and Israel aid after House Republicans debacle – live
Good morning, US politics blog readers. What a fiasco yesterday was for Republicans in Congress. First, the GOP turned against a deal they had demanded to impose hardline immigration policies and provide military aid to Ukraine and Israel, reportedly because Donald Trump wants to campaign on the issue. It was an embarrassing defeat for Mitch McConnell, the top Senate Republican who supports both countries’ causes. But whatever mortification he felt was eclipsed by the farce that occurred late in the day in the House of Representatives. The Republican speaker, Mike Johnson, barreled ahead with a floor vote on impeaching the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, thinking it had the support to pass. Little did he know that it, in fact, did not, after Democrats united against it and three Republicans defected. But Johnson’s bad night wasn’t over yet. He teed up a vote on a standalone package to fund Israel’s military, thinking he could sway the country’s Democratic backers into voting for it. They did not take the bait, and that legislation also failed to pass.
The House GOP has vowed to press on with the Mayorkas impeachment, bringing the measure back up as soon as today, though it remains unclear if they have the votes to actually do that. Meanwhile, the Senate’s Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is going on the offensive, reportedly by planning a vote on military aid to Israel and Ukraine, without the border crackdown the GOP, at one point, pressed for. We’ll see if that goes anywhere.
Here’s what else is happening today:
Nikki Haley managed to come in second to “none of these candidates” in Nevada’s low-stakes presidential primary, raising further questions about the viability of her challenge to Trump for the Republican nomination.
Matt Gaetz and Elise Stefanik, two big Trump fans in the House, plan to introduce a resolution saying that he did not engage in an insurrection.
Trump yesterday was denied immunity by an appeals court for his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election. His campaign says he will appeal.