Republicans sideline Zelensky with border demands and endanger the aid package

As President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine stood at a lectern in the Capitol on Tuesday and implored senators to quickly approve more aid for his country’s war against Russian invaders, Senator Lindsey Graham, the Republican of South Carolina, delivered a blunt message out.

“This is the problem,” Mr. Graham, a defense hawk who has been a champion of aid to Kiev, reminded Mr. Zelensky. “It has nothing to do with you.”

Mr. Graham went on to explain the harsh political reality that has blocked Congress’ approval of more American aid for his embattled country: The dispute is not at all about the merits of that fight. Republicans have turned the topic into a persistent domestic political dispute over curbing migration at the U.S. border with Mexico.

“I said, you’ve done everything anyone could ask of you,” Mr. Graham said later, recounting his conversation with the Ukrainian president. “This is not your problem here.”

But it was a problem for Mr. Zelensky, whose visit to Capitol Hill and the White House failed to end a Republican filibuster of a $110.5 billion relief bill that includes another $50 billion in security aid for Ukraine . He argued that supporting Kiev would protect the West by preventing President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia from seizing more of Europe — but was told by Republicans that that was irrelevant.

His visit to Capitol Hill Tuesday marked a lively departure from Mr. Zelensky’s previous trips. A year ago, he was largely hailed as a hero by lawmakers. They invited him to address a joint meeting of Congress and capped his trip with an overwhelming approval of nearly $50 billion to arm and aid his country.

This time, as U.S. support for sending aid to Ukraine deteriorated, especially among Republican members of Congress, the reception was considerably more frosty. Some Republican senators made a point of doing a media tour to preemptively criticize Mr. Zelensky’s visit, complaining that he would come at all.

“We’re hearing from the president of Ukraine again, but we have yet to hear from our own president about the border, our border,” said Senator Eric Schmitt, Republican of Missouri.

Mr. Zelensky made no public comments at the Capitol, where he was effectively sidelined from the discussion. He tried not to get involved in the domestic political dispute that was blocking aid to his country.

“He simply said, ‘I know I shouldn’t get involved’” in the border discussions, said Sen. Mike Rounds, Republican of South Dakota. “He made it clear that he understood that was a problem. He was there to talk about their needs. And he did a good job of not getting involved and not getting involved in the discussion.”

Meanwhile, bipartisan talks in the Senate aimed at breaking the impasse over immigration policy have deteriorated, and lawmakers are openly discussing the likelihood of leaving Washington for the holidays without passing aid to Ukraine.

“It is virtually impossible” for Congress to pass a bill on Ukraine and border security before the holidays, said Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, the minority leader who has been a leading advocate for supporting Kiev in its war against Russia .

Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, said a tough House-approved border measure championed by conservative hardliners was dead on arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate. “But if Republicans show they are serious about meeting us in the middle, we are willing to meet them in the middle,” he said.

He said some Republican lawmakers were simply “unwilling to budge” on their border demands.

“Unfortunately, it may appear that these are both excuses, and that they really want to cut off funding for Ukraine and never had any intention of approving it,” Schumer said. “That doesn’t apply to all Republicans – but to too many.”

Karoun Demirjian, Kayla Guo And Robert Jimison reporting contributed.