With the death of the bipartisan border deal, the Senate had passed the foreign aid package originally included as a standalone bill, which has already met resistance from House Republicans and some Senators. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) ripped the apparent isolationist sentiment in a recent appearance on CNN, saying, "We know that that is not a realistic objective."
The $95 billion foreign aid package would devote resources to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, in addition to other regions of national interest. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) was among the bill's critics, and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) sought to include amendments to the bill addressing the ongoing border crisis.
Additionally, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has signaled the foreign aid package would not receive a vote in the House, citing the need for American border security above all else.
Sen. Sinema blasted the apparent hypocrisy of Republicans demanding border security yet turned down the bipartisan border deal on the Senate floor, accusing them of refusing to act on the issue to keep it as an election-year talking point.
Similarly, during her appearance on CNN, Sen. Sinema criticized the opposition to the foreign aid package as Republicans having "decided to pursue isolationism."
"There is a big split between the Republican conference in the Senate on whether or not to support this package. It is unfortunate that many of my colleagues have decided to pursue isolationism as a national strategic objective. We know that is not a realistic objective. The United States is the greatest superpower in the world. And we owe it not only to our own national security but to our allies across the world that thugs like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, the leaders of Iran, Hamas, and China do not get to continue their powers of aggression against other countries around the globe," said Sinema.
Host Jessica Dean pointed out that former President Donald Trump held considerable influence in killing the bipartisan border deal and in opposition to the foreign aid package, to which Sinema responded, "Each Senator has a duty to make up his or her own mind and to make their own decisions."
