President Joe Biden said on Sunday that American aid to Ukraine will keep flowing for now as he sought to reassure allies of continued US financial support for the war effort. But time is running out, the president said in a warning to Congress.
“We cannot under any circumstances allow American for Ukraine to be interrupted,” Biden said in remarks from the Roosevelt Room after Congress voted late Saturday to avert a government shutdown by passing a short-term funding package that dropped assistance for Ukraine in the fight against Russia.
“We have time, not much time and there’s an overwhelming sense of urgency,” he said, noting that the funding bill lasts only until mid-November. Biden urged Congress to negotiate an aid package as soon as possible.
“The vast majority of both parties — Democrats and Republicans, Senate and House — support helping Ukraine and the brutal aggression that is being thrust upon them by Russia,” Biden said. “Stop playing games, get this done.’
But many lawmakers acknowledge that winning approval for Ukraine assistance in Congress is growing more difficult as the war grinds on. Republican resistance to the aid has been gaining momentum in the halls of Congress.Voting in the House this past week pointed to the potential trouble ahead. Nearly half of House Republicans voted to strip USD 300 million from a defense spending bill to train Ukrainian soldiers and purchase weapons.
The money later was approved separately, but opponents of Ukraine support celebrated their growing numbers.Then, on Saturday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., omitted additional Ukraine aid from a measure to keep the government running until November 17.
In doing so, he closed the door on a Senate package that would have funnelled USD 6 billion to Ukraine, roughly one-third of what has been requested by the White House. Both the House and Senate overwhelmingly approved the stopgap measure, with members of both parties abandoning the increased aid for Ukraine in favor of avoiding a costly government shutdown.
