McConnell is increasingly clashing with pro-Trump GOPers who oppose US support for Ukraine against Russia
- Mitch McConnell pledged unwavering support for Ukraine in a trip to Kyiv on Saturday.
- It contrasts with pro-Trump Republicans who oppose US money being used to back Ukraine.
In a secret visit to Kyiv on Saturday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell pledged unwavering support for Ukraine in its war against the Russian invaders.
"It's in America's interest to do this. This is not a charity we're involved in here. It's in our interests to help Ukrainians just like it's in the interest of NATO countries. So this is not some handout," McConnell told reporters after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Yet it's a position that again places McConnell at odds with the pro-Trump, isolationist wing of the Republican Party with which he has clashed repeatedly.
The House of Representatives passed a new $40 billion military and economic aid package for Ukraine last week, despite 57 Republicans from the MAGA wing of the party voting against it.
It appeared to show a hardening of opinion, as two months ago only three Republicans opposed a similar aid bill.
The latest bill was prevented from passing the Senate on Friday when GOP Sen. Rand Paul blocked expedited passage, putting the measure through a longer process than is likely to play out this week.
Politico, citing GOP sources, said that around half a dozen Senate Republicans would vote against the bill — nowhere near enough to block it, but a significant show of dissent.
GOP candidates on the mid-term campaign trail are also seeking to stir hostility to large Ukraine aid packages, with Trump-endorsed Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance criticizing his Democratic opponent for backing aid while communities at home are "decimated."
The division between Republicans over Ukraine was exemplified in an exchange of tweets between Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rep Dan Crenshaw last week, in which Greene accused him of backing a "proxy war" of no benefit to Americans, and Crenshaw accused Greene of pushing Kremlin propaganda.
Greene later seized on McConnell's visit, claiming that Ukraine clearly didn't need military help because its capital was safe enough for McConnell to visit.
It's not the first time McConnell has found himself at odds with the GOP's MAGA faction, particularly on the issue of Trump's accountability for the Jan 6 insurrection.
So far their hostility has not loosened McConnell's hold over the Senate GOP. McConnell said that he expected that the Ukraine aid bill would be approved by the Senate on Wednesday.
"There have always been isolationist voices in the Republican Party, and there were prior to World War II, and that's perfectly alright," McConnell said Saturday. "This is a debate worth having. It's an important subject. And I think one of the lessons we learned from World War II is not standing up to aggression early. It's a huge mistake."
Yet if the war drags on, and Americans continue to feel the bite of inflation, Republican opposition to large Ukraine aid packages could continue to grow.