Republicans block bipartisan bill on border, aid to Ukraine - media

That's according to The Hill, Ukrinform reports.

"It looks to me, and most of our members, we have no real chance here to make a law," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said during his weekly press conference.

More than half of the Republicans in the upper chamber spoke categorically against the bill, and several high-ranking lawmakers from this party said they would block the consideration of the document.

That seemed to mark the death of the proposal crafted by Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) — less than 48 hours after they unveiled the package they spent months negotiating.

Read also: Biden in ‘Ukrainian tie’ calls on Congress to approve aid package for Ukraine

That quick condemnation angered Democrats who were unable to hide their disdain for how the previous two days unfolded. They argued Republicans had misled them after insisting on linking the border to aid for Ukraine back in October. That idea was eventually backed by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who Sunday declared the Senate border bill "dead on arrival" in the House.

"How can you trust any Republican right now? How would we know what to do next?" Murphy told reporters. "They told us what to do. We followed their instructions to the letter and then they pulled the rug out from under us in 24 hours. Who are we supposed to work with over there? They are a negotiating nightmare."

U.S. President Joe Biden, in turn, accused Donald Trump of inciting Republicans.

"All indications are this bill won't even move forward to the Senate floor. Why? A simple reason: Donald Trump. Because Donald Trump thinks it's bad for him politically," Biden said from the White House. "He'd rather weaponize this issue than actually solve it."

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