McConnell on passing Ukraine aid before Christmas: 'practically impossible'

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday offered pessimistic words for the prospect of approving any additional aid to Ukraine before Congress leaves for Christmas break.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday addressed lawmakers in Washington hoping to convince Republican holdouts to approve a comprehensive supplemental funding package backed by the Biden White House. Whereas the administration has sought to pair Ukraine aid with support for Israel and other American partners abroad, Republicans have demanded that the Democrats agree to sweeping border security reforms to pass aid to Kyiv.

Amid the deadlock, McConnell suggested that it would logistically unfeasible to negotiate and pass a compromise aid package before Christmas.

"All I have said is [it’s] practically impossible, even though we reach an agreement, to craft it, get it through the Senate, get it through the House before Christmas," he said, according to The Hill.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, for his part, remained steadfast in his border demands even after the meeting with Zelensky, saying "[f]rom the very beginning, when I was handed the gavel, we needed clarity on what we're doing in Ukraine and how we'll have proper oversight of the spending of precious taxpayer dollars, and we needed a transformative change at the border. Thus far we've gotten neither."

The House is slated to leave for break this week, meaning prospective Ukraine aid would likely be delayed until well into January. The delay comes amid mounting Russian gains along the eastern front and warnings of an imminent major offensive.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.