Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday any attempt by Democrats to filibuster defense funding will expose the hypocrisy behind their fight to impeach President Trump.
The Kentucky Republican said his chamber will consider an appropriations bill that would fund the military, including $250 million in military assistance for Ukraine.
He said the vote for the Department of Defense money will be a “litmus test” for Democrats to see if they can work on other issues while on their drive to impeach Mr. Trump for allegedly withholding financial assistance to Ukraine in exchange for requesting an investigation into former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, who has become a political rival.
“Welcome to Washington — where Democrats try to impeach President Trump for supposedly slow-walking aid for Ukraine and simultaneously filibuster the funding for the exact same Ukraine program here in the Senate. Welcome to Washington,” Mr. McConnell said.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer called it “laughable” to suggest Democrats are holding up money to Ukraine. The New York Democrat said it’s false to accuse his side of the aisle of delaying the overall process.
The issue, he insisted, falls on the Republican leadership, which has not negotiated with Democrats on allocations to various agencies, accusing the Republican majority of taking funds from health programs and military families to pay for the president’s border wall.
“Democrats, of course, are not going to proceed to a defense bill that steals from our troops to pay for a border wall the American people don’t want,” Mr. Schumer said.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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