Senate gears up for test vote on Israel and Ukraine aid amid clash over border security

The Senate is expected to hold a vote Wednesday in an effort to advance aid to Ukraine and Israel, but Republicans are poised to block the move as a result of a clash over border security.

Senate Republicans have insisted that the foreign aid must be paired with major border security policy changes, and while there have been bipartisan talks to try to find consensus, the two sides remain far apart. It’s not clear whether an agreement can be reached over the contentious issue, a critical sticking point that threatens to derail passage of the aid package.

The stalemate comes amid Israel’s war against Hamas and Ukraine’s war against Russian aggression. The White House issued a dire warning earlier this week that funding for Ukraine is running out and failure to secure an agreement to approve further aid will present critical national security risks.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said ahead of the vote that Republicans will block the bill when it comes up for a vote because it doesn’t adequately address border security.

“Senate Republicans are going to deny cloture on a bill that doesn’t address America’s top national security priorities in a serious way. As we’ve said for weeks, legislation that does not include policy changes to secure our borders will not pass the Senate,” he said on the Senate floor.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has accused Republicans of “hostage taking” as the path to passing aid to Ukraine and Israel remains unclear.

Schumer has pushed to start debate on the foreign aid and vowed to give Republicans the first amendment to address their border policy demands.

“Will senators agree to begin debate, just a debate, on legislation to defend America’s national security on an issue so important, it goes to the actual preservation of Western and democratic values in the world?” he asked. “Or will senators prevent us from moving forward over extremist border policies?”

Schumer warned on Tuesday that “without more aid from Congress, Ukraine may fall, democracy in Europe will be imperiled and those who think Vladimir Putin will stop merely at Ukraine willfully ignored the clear and unmistakable warnings of history.”

President Joe Biden urgently called on Congress to pass aid for Ukraine in an impassioned speech on Wednesday.

“Make no mistake: today’s vote is going to be long remembered. And history is going to judge harshly those who turned their back on freedom’s cause. We can’t let Putin win,” Biden said.

Senate Democrats have released legislative text for a $110 billion security assistance package that includes funding for Israel and Ukraine and humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, among other priorities. The bill includes border security provisions, but a bipartisan deal hasn’t been struck over the issue.

In November, the GOP-controlled House passed a bill to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel. Democrats, however, took issue with the bill over the fact that it would enact funding cuts to the Internal Revenue Service and that it did not include aid to Ukraine.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has also stressed the importance of border security. “Any national security package has to begin with the security of our own border,” he said at a news conference Tuesday.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s Haley Talbot and Betsy Klein contributed to this report.