WHAT SUPP? With a bipartisan border deal in serious doubt, the national security supplemental is falling apart at the seams, and this much is clear: There is no obvious Plan B for passing Israel and Ukraine aid — both bipartisan priorities that for months now have been entangled with the much thornier immigration issue. “I'm not aware of a Plan B. We're focused on Plan A,” said Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.). “We’ll burn that bridge if we get to it. We'll get the chance to hopefully vote on a package at some point,” said Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah). “If that doesn't happen we'll have to consider other options.” While Senate Republican leadership is still behind Sen. James Lankford’s (R-Okla.) efforts to negotiate border policy changes as part of a broader package, swaths of their conference have soured on the idea as GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump urges lawmakers to oppose it. “It's certainly been a challenge to try to reach an agreement on the border, that's why we've been talking about this so long,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Wednesday. “It’s time for us to move something, hopefully including a border agreement. We need to get help to Israel and Ukraine quickly.” Foreign aid follies: While there’s support in both parties for Israel and Ukraine aid, a serious split on Ukraine funding in the Republican-controlled House prompted the White House and congressional leaders to pursue a logrolling strategy, combining funding for both countries with aid for Taiwan and the southern border — and, later, major border policy changes. That strategy is now showing some cracks, to put it mildly, and some lawmakers are ready to split up the package. “I support Ukraine — that's absolutely essential — whether it's part of the package or separately,” said Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.). “One way or the other, we've got to do it.” “We've had standalone Israel funding — I would do that again tomorrow,” said Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.). The push lands as two prominent conservatives — Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), the Republican Study Committee chair — floated a “clean, un-offset Israel bill” on Wednesday as a logical next step for House consideration, a move that would leave the border and Ukraine issues behind (and difficult to pass through the chamber). Standing up for Lankford: Layered over the debate about what’s next is frustration at more than three months of potentially wasted negotiations — and at some Republicans who have seemingly thrown Lankford, a noted border hawk, under the bus. “When James was chosen by McConnell to be the Republican lead negotiator on this, many of my colleagues said, ‘Oh, boy, he's too conservative. We will never get to an agreement with him.’ And he has been fixed and difficult,” Coons said. “Some in their conference are just not serious about legislating.” Said Marshall: “If the Democrats can't get a deal done with him, they can't get a deal done with anybody,” adding, “We're not going to get policy changes in the near future — in the next decades — even if the Senate has 55 Republican senators” absent a deal now. — Anthony Adragna and Ursula Perano, with an assist from Burgess Everett GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Wednesday, Jan. 31, where we are still surprised this has continued on day 3.
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