Republicans put a spoke in the wheels of the Biden administration
Republicans in the US Senate blocked a funding bill that included aid to Ukraine and Israel. The US Congress is unlikely to approve increased funding for Kiev before the end of the year after the Republican Party demanded tougher border rules.
The Senate blocked an additional funding bill that included financial aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as provisions aimed at strengthening U.S. border security.
The vote, which was largely along party lines, raises the possibility that Congress will not be able to approve an increase in funding for Ukraine until the end of the year, as the White House warned that Kiev desperately needs additional help, The Guardian notes.
The votes were 49 in favor and 51 against, as every Senate Republican opposed moving forward with the bill. Sixty votes were required to pass the bill. Republicans in both houses of Congress have demanded tighter border rules in exchange for their support, and they have said the bill does not meet their demands.
The vote came a day after Senate Democrats formally unveiled a $111 billion supplemental security bill, reflecting a funding request Joe Biden made in October to help U.S. allies abroad.
On the eve of the vote, Biden issued an address in which he called on Congress to pass the bill, warning that inaction would only benefit Russia in the conflict against Ukraine.
“Who is ready to refuse to hold Putin accountable for such behavior? How many of us are really ready to do this? – President Biden appealed to the “consciousness” of legislators. “I’m not ready to leave, and I don’t think the American people are either.”
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky addressed the leaders of the G7 countries and urged them to stymie Russia by winning the “battle of motivations” and not showing weakness .
G7 leaders met via video link at short notice in a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian leader, which included an attempt to breathe new life into sanctions against Russia, notes The Guardian.
Zelensky thanked the G7 leaders for their support and warned that Moscow expects Western support for Ukraine to end. “Russia believes that America and Europe will show weakness and will not maintain support for Ukraine at the proper level. Putin believes that the free world will not fully enforce its own sanctions, and the Russian elite ridicules the world’s doubts about the use of Russian assets to compensate for damage,” the Kiev president tried to convince his patrons.
But his arguments failed to sway Senate Republicans on Wednesday, The Guardian emphasizes. While the additional funding bill included a number of border security measures, Republicans in both chambers insisted the legislation should go further in limiting migrants' claims for asylum and parole. The proposals are a non-starter for many Democrats, making it unclear how the additional bill could pass a divided Congress, The Guardian writes.
Biden said Wednesday he is willing to make “meaningful compromises on the border,” but accused Republicans of taking an all-or-nothing approach to immigration talks.
“These have to be negotiations that – Biden said. “Republicans think they can get everything they want without any bipartisan compromise.” This is not the answer.”
Those tensions boiled over Tuesday night when a classified Senate briefing on Ukraine turned into a shouting match. According to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Zelensky was scheduled to speak at the briefing, but he was forced to cancel it due to “last minute” problems.
The briefing still took place despite Zelensky’s absence. but Schumer then accused Republicans of “hijacking” the meeting to discuss border security. Republicans then criticized Schumer for refusing to address the critical issues that led to the current standoff, The Guardian recalls.
“Republicans are just walking out of the briefing because the people there are not willing to actually discuss what it takes to get a deal done,” said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah.
Because there is no resolution As expected, Senate Republicans successfully blocked progress on the additional security bill.
Although Republicans have expressed serious concerns about provisions in the border bill, the $10 billion in aid for Israel has drawn criticism from Democrat Bernie Sanders. In a letter sent to colleagues Tuesday, the progressive Vermont senator warned against giving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “carte blanche” as the death toll in Gaza continues to rise.
“No, I don’t think so.” “We should give $10.1 billion to Netanyahu's right-wing extremist government to continue his current military strategy,” Bernie Sanders tweeted. “What the Netanyahu government is doing is immoral, it is a violation of international law, and the United States should not be complicit in these actions.”
After it became clear that the bill would not pass on Wednesday, Sanders joined Republicans in opposing the procedural proposal. Schumer initially voted to advance the bill, but he then changed his vote to “no,” a procedural maneuver that will allow him to return to the bill at a later date.
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