Government shutdown will not affect US aid to Ukraine, Pentagon says

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tried to negotiate a compromise that would include a temporary «continuing resolution»; to prevent a shutdown Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

U.S. aid to Ukraine will continue even if the government is forced to shut down next weekend due to a spending dispute in Congress, the Pentagon said.

< p>The Defense Department said its budget for military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine was capped as part of a contingency plan to keep «critical» parts of Joe Biden's administration afloat.

Most of the federal government could be forced to to temporarily close next weekend if House Republicans refuse to approve a short-term spending resolution.

GOP hardliners, including those in the House Freedom Caucus, have already done so. objected to high levels of federal spending and attached a number of conservative demands to the spending bill in an attempt to destroy it.

Kevin McCarthy, the Republican Speaker of the House, tried to negotiate a compromise. with his party, which would require passing a temporary «continuing resolution» to prevent a shutdown.

If the spending bill is not passed on time, thousands of federal workers would be furloughed without pay and much of the government would grind to a halt. .

Operation Atlantic Resolve

But on Friday the Pentagon said it had released aid for Ukraine, codenamed Operation Atlantic Resolve, which was marked in its contingency plans as an «essential» expense that would continue.

Operation «Atlantic Resolve is an excluded activity due to the termination of government appropriations,» said Defense Department spokesman Chris. Sherwood told Fox News.

The spending dispute comes as Republicans say they will also oppose the new $24 billion Ukraine aid package that Mr. Biden has requested from Congress.

Some Republicans, including presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, argue that Biden has spent too much on Ukraine's war effort and should focus on domestic issues.

The current package is set to expire at the end month, and the Pentagon is left with a $5.5 billion remaining budget that was discovered after an accounting error.