Biden and the GOP must cut a deal to aid Ukraine

The Biden administration and top Democrats in Congress once again find themselves blocked from delivering expenditures that they deem essential. This time, the funding is meant to help defend key American allies, and by logical extension, our own long-term security. That's why Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday made his second visit to Washington in three months to appeal for further military aid.

Last week, Senate Republicans blocked a procedural vote on a $111 billion package with new military assistance to Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel. GOP leaders in both houses refused to approve it without sweeping changes to the nation’s border policies.

“Fixing a badly broken asylum and parole system isn’t hijacking the supplemental [funding measure], it’s strengthening it,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has argued. “Securing our Southern border isn’t extraneous to our national security, it’s essential.” New House Speaker Mike Johnson added Tuesday after meeting with Zelenskyy for the first time: “Our first condition on any national security supplemental spending package is about our own national security first.”

The GOP's border-Ukraine linkage is a bargaining posture. It’s not the best way to deal with separate foreign and domestic crises that have little to do with each other. The position relegates the issues to the usual sausage-making and horse-trading at the Capitol. But even that less-than-ideal scenario has the potential to prove productive.

The U.S. indeed has an urgent need to stem the flow of migrants — or at least, improve border control. That's true even if it means kicking comprehensive immigration reforms further down the road. President Joe Biden on Tuesday rightly called for action on this front and said, “Compromise is how democracy works.” 

Both major parties have strong political incentives. Democrats want to show voters they can resolve the myriad pressures of the major migrant influx on New York, other cities, and border communities. By supporting Ukraine, Republicans can show that the GOP's past winks and nods from some in their camp to President Vladimir Putin’s nasty territorial ambitions are history. Both parties should want to demonstrate they are committed to protecting democracy.

Ukraine’s other allies, in the European Union, begin a summit of their own on Wednesday. The EU is discussing an aid package for Kyiv worth $54 billion. 

Consider recent events: Since last month, Russia has been carrying out a major offensive in Ukraine’s east. And Monday, Putin attended the commissioning of new Russian nuclear submarines — a threatening display of might.

Putin persists in his bloody project. He's giving the U.S. and Biden even less incentive to stand aloof and forget about Ukraine. Perhaps that will help inspire all the players in Washington to display the cooperation needed to reach a reasonable deal on Ukraine aid.