(Washington) Joe Biden brought the leaders of Congress to the White House on Wednesday to urge them to continue American aid to Ukraine, currently interrupted due to lack of agreement between Republican and Democratic parliamentarians on a financial extension .
The American president “was clear: Congress’s inability to act endangers the security of the United States, NATO and the rest of the free world,” according to a statement released by the White House after the meeting.
The 81-year-old democrat, who had until now stayed away from parliamentary negotiations, however, according to the same source, noted “encouraging progress” in the ongoing discussions within one of the two chambers of the Congress, the Senate, where his party has a majority.
It’s another matter in the House of Representatives, with a Republican majority.
“Productive”
Its leader, Conservative Mike Johnson, said upon leaving that the meeting had been “productive”, and he claimed to “understand the importance” of aid to Ukraine.
The Republican, however, declared that in his eyes, “the biggest priority (was) the border” with Mexico, where thousands of migrants arrive every day.
PHOTO LEAH MILLIS, REUTERS
Mike Johnson
The American president is asking for $61 billion to continue military assistance to Ukraine, but Republicans in the House of Representatives are demanding in return a clear tightening of his immigration policy.
The leader of the Democratic senators Chuck Schumer estimated that the meeting around Joe Biden had been “very positive” and called for resolving “at the same time” the question of immigration and that of aid to Ukraine, based on consensus between the two parties.
He said he was “more optimistic than ever” about the rapid conclusion in the Senate of an agreement encompassing these two subjects, but also aid to Israel and support for Taiwan, the other strategic priorities of the American president.
Before the meeting, a White House spokesperson, John Kirby, spoke of the “desperate, urgent need for continued deliveries of weapons and equipment to Ukraine.”
December 27
He recalled that the last American aid was announced on December 27, “there has not been another since and there will not be another until we have funding.” he added.
Mike Johnson, who arrived at the head of the House of Representatives in October under incredible conditions, following an unprecedented dismissal of his predecessor initiated by Trumpist elected officials, plays a delicate role.
He repeated Wednesday that he wanted “answers to questions about strategy” in Ukraine and the “ultimate goal.”
Some deputies from the radical right do not want to hear about new aid for Ukraine, and could threaten to overthrow the “Speaker” again if the latter acts with the support of elected Democrats.
“The only way to resolve the border question and that of Ukraine […] is by consensus” between representatives of the two parties, for his part affirmed Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer.
The US Congress is also negotiating an agreement on temporary funding to prevent a paralysis of the federal government on Friday.
The Senate must vote on this proposal Thursday afternoon, in order to “give Congress time to continue working” on a more comprehensive budget, Mr. Schumer said late Wednesday.
The situation is also uncomfortable for Joe Biden, campaigning for a second term and who risks dissatisfying his most progressive supporters if he significantly toughens immigration policy.