With McConnell's resignation as Senate Republican leader, Ukraine loses an important ally in passing bipartisan aid packages.
For the past two years, Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell has supported sending weapons and economic aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. With the sudden announcement of the Republican leader's resignation, Kyiv will be left without an important ally among the GOP politicians.
The Republican Party leader has considerable influence - he supported new aid to Ukraine as much as he could at the moment, pushing a $95 billion bipartisan foreign aid package through the House of Representatives despite criticism from other US politicians, the newspaper writes.
In the fall of 2023, McConnell repeatedly argued in favor of the economic benefits of arms sales to Ukraine, pointing out that the funds were returned to the United States in the form of contracts for the defense industry. The Republican senator from Kentucky also worked closely with Democratic Party leaders to pass a new tranche of aid in the Senate in February 2024.
As Politico points out, McConnell is in the middle of a fierce internal conflict within the Republican Party over Ukraine, trying to keep the government open and lead his party to a majority in the Senate.
However, now that McConnell is stepping down as leader, some are hoping for a greater reset of party priorities.
Senator Roger Marshall (Republican Party) has already made a statement to this effect:
Americans - whether it's the issue of Ukraine or the issue of borders... the vast majority say it's time
The United States cannot "afford to wait a month or two months or three months, because we have a chance to lose the war, to end up with a fragmented NATO and allies who will distance themselves
Democrats recognize that action on the border is necessary, [...] but they believe that working out the political details will take time, time that Ukraine does not have