McConnell goes all out as Ukraine fight fractures GOP

Mitch McConnell is abandoning his typically cautious style when it comes to aiding Ukraine, shrugging off potshots at his leadership and expending political capital for the embattled country despite a painful rift in the party.

McConnell is at odds with new Republican Speaker Mike Johnson, who wants to split off Israel aid from Ukraine funding rather than pass a sweeping national security package. And the Senate GOP leader faces brewing discontent within his own conference, which is buzzing over whether to stick with McConnell or side with conservatives who want a strategy change on Ukraine.

McConnell’s public and private lobbying efforts to greenlight tens of billions of dollars in Ukraine assistance is a sharp deviation from his usual more reserved, consensus-building approach. He’s going to significant lengths to win over reluctant GOP senators and is on a collision course with the new speaker.

On Monday, McConnell will appear alongside Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, at the University of Louisville to again publicly commit the United States to Kyiv’s defense against Russia, a striking move amid the intraparty tension. That follows Sunday show appearances — a rarity for the minority leader — and public and private remarks in the Senate over the past week stumping for a sweeping aid request tying together help for Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine as well as border security.