Mitch McConnell, standing apart in a changing GOP, digs in on his decades-long push against Russia

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and LISA MASCARO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has been increasingly isolated on foreign policy among his GOP colleagues, a growing number of whom have distanced themselves as a matter of course from U.S. involvement abroad — and particularly on Ukraine. Their sentiment has partially been shaped by former President Donald Trump, who railed against “forever wars.” The Republican dissension over the issue has become a pivotal moment in U.S. politics that has put the Ukraine aid and America’s role in the world in doubt. The White House is pushing Congress to pass a massive foreign aid package for both Ukraine and Israel’s war against Hamas. Failing to pass the aid would be “a disaster for Ukraine and disaster for us,” McConnell said.