How Mitch McConnell clings to 'Reagan-era foreign policy' in the face of MAGA isolationism: report

Although President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) have had plenty of disagreements over the years, one thing the octogenarians agree on is the need for military aid to Ukraine. But many MAGA Republicans believe the United States doesn't have a major interest in the conflict.

In an article published on Valentine's Day 2024, Punchbowl News details McConnell's ongoing push for military aid to Ukraine despite resistance from isolationist Republicans in Congress.

"Nobody emerged from the Senate's months-long, politically treacherous Ukraine fight more battered — and somehow upbeat — than Minority Leader Mitch McConnell," Punchbowl explains. "Yes, significant hurdles remain in getting the Senate-passed foreign aid package, or something resembling it, signed into law. And there's little McConnell can do to reverse his party's drift from its Reagan-era foreign policy doctrine."

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Punchbowl continues, "But the Kentucky Republican can safely say he defied the odds and overcame significant political headwinds in helping push the $95 billion bill. This includes an unrelenting wave of conservative GOP opposition after several failed and seemingly futile attempts to pass new Ukraine aid."

Punchbowl interviewed McConnell after a foreign aid bill passed in the U.S. Senate with the help of 22 Republicans.

The Senate minority leader told Punchbowl, "I'm proud of the fact that we got 22 votes. I know it's a hot political issue — when the likely nominee of your party is opposed to it, that has a lot of sway."

Punchbowl notes that McConnell "represents a fading era of Republican foreign-policy orthodoxy" that has "been further eroded by Trump."

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McConnell told Punchbowl, "I know we have a significant number of critics on our side like we did back during the Roosevelt period. But I think it's the right thing for our country to stand up to this sort of thing. If we don't, I don’t know who will."

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Read Punchbowl News' full report at this link.