When Biden Worries That Aid to Ukraine Will Be Disturbed
Internal friction within the Republican Party has complicated budget negotiations in the nation's House of Representatives, and has left the White House concerned about continuing support for Kiev as a top foreign policy priority for the Biden administration. In this regard, US President Joe Biden on Wednesday (4/10/2023) expressed his concern that the commotion in the American DPR could create disruption in the distribution of this country's aid to Ukraine.
When asked if he was worried that the United States would not be able to fulfill its promise to provide aid to Ukraine because of the chaos in the US Congress, Biden said, "This issue has worried me, but nevertheless I believe the majority of members of both parties in the House and Senate have already announced their support against providing aid to Ukraine." Biden's concern about Washington's continuation of aid to Kiev is revealed in light of the latest developments in the DPR, namely the removal of Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the US House of Representatives from the Republican Party by parliamentarians, in a vote on Tuesday, October 3 in this House and during the internal Republican Party dispute between the radical camp and moderate.
Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Zelensky Hard-line Republicans and Trump supporters are dissatisfied with McCarthy's performance because of his agreement with the Biden administration to increase the debt ceiling and pass a short-term budget. The approval of McCarthy's proposed plan not to close the federal government of course brings a big problem, namely the lack of aid to Ukraine, which is a big blow to the Biden administration's policy of continuing to provide aid to Ukraine. In fact, the House, despite passing a temporary bill, preventing a shutdown of the American federal government, and removing one of the Biden administration's priorities, namely aid to Ukraine, could be considered a blow to the American president and his Ukrainian counterpart at the same time Joe Biden finally signed temporary legislation to prevent another 45-day government shutdown.
Although he impressed many in Washington with this work, he also put one of his top priorities, namely helping Ukraine, at risk. What is important is that hard-line Republicans in the US House of Representatives strongly oppose Washington's continued aid to Kiev for the war against Russia and demand an end to the country's aid to Ukraine and the allocation of financial resources to US domestic affairs, including for more oversight of the US. border. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a radical Republican representative on X (twitter), wrote: Not a penny for Ukraine!! I will not support anyone for president who sends US tax dollars to the corrupt nation of Ukraine!! Defend America's borders!!! Biden has asked Congress to approve an additional $24 billion in aid to Ukraine by July 2023.
The White House said on Tuesday that the current temporary funding levels will continue for about two more months, meaning until next 2 months, it is unlikely to approve more much aid to Ukraine in the US Congress. The important issue at the moment, in the struggle between radical and moderate Republicans, is that the election of the next speaker of the House of Representatives is in a state of uncertainty, and even if the Republican representatives agree and elect a new speaker, the main demand from the radical faction is that reducing or stopping aid to Ukraine will be their main demands. Meanwhile, the recent stance of former president Donald Trump and the leading Republican candidates for the 2024 presidential election has helped strengthen the position of radical groups. Trump suggested that Washington stop spending on Ukraine, which he said amounted to 175 billion dollars, until Europe equals America in this spending.
Trump wrote on his social network called "Truth Social", as long as Europe has not matched the money America spends to defend Ukraine, nothing another dollar must be given! Of course, Biden has previously announced that there are alternative sources to continue providing aid to Ukraine, but he declined to elaborate on that. A method the White House has used in the past to increase aid to Ukraine is through a financial tool called “funds rescheduling,” which is used to move funds to Pentagon accounts to meet immediate needs. Although the use of these financial tools is considered a possible solution, without the agreement of both Republicans and Democrats in the US Congress, Washington's aid to Ukraine cannot continue.
The Washington Post
