To pass Ukraine aid, ‘Reagan Republican’ leaders in Congress navigated a party transformed by Trump

By STEPHEN GROVES and MARY CLARE JALONICK
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Providing Ukraine with weapons and other U.S. aid as it fends off a Russian invasion is rooted in the earliest and most formative political memories of the two top Republicans in Congress. But the all-out effort to get the package through Congress left House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell struggling with an entirely new generation of the Republican Party shaped by Donald Trump. Throughout the six-month debate in Congress, both lawmakers had to expend significant political standing and depend on Democratic support to gain passage. The $95 billion package also sends support to Israel, Taiwan and humanitarian missions.