US President Joe Biden on Tuesday called for Republicans in the US House of Representatives to urgently bring a US$95.3 billion aid package for Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel to a vote, warning that refusal to take up the bill, passed by the US Senate in the morning, would be “playing into Putin’s hands.”
“Supporting this bill is standing up to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” Biden said, raising his voice in strong comments from the White House as he referred to the Russian leader. “We can’t walk away now. That’s what Putin is betting on.”
However, the package faces a deeply uncertain future in the House, where hardline Republicans aligned with former US president Donald Trump — the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, and a critic of support for Ukraine — oppose the legislation.
Photo: Reuters
House Speaker Mike Johnson has cast new doubt on the package and made clear that it could be weeks or months before the US Congress sends the legislation to Biden’s desk — if at all.
The potential impasse comes at a crucial point in the nearly two-year war, and supporters warn that abandoning Ukraine could embolden Putin and threaten national security across the globe.
Yet the months-long push to approve the US$60 billion in aid for Kyiv that is included in the package has exposed growing political divisions in the Republican Party over the role of the US abroad.
Biden also lashed at Trump, who on Saturday said during a campaign appearance that he once warned he would allow Russia to do whatever it wants to NATO member nations that are “delinquent” in devoting 2 percent of their GDP to defense.
“When America gives its word it means something,” Biden said. “Donald Trump looks at this as if it’s a burden.”
The Senate vote came early on Tuesday after a small group of Republicans opposed to the US$60 billion for Ukraine held the Senate floor through the night, using the final hours of debate to argue that the US should focus on its own problems before sending more money overseas.
However, 22 Republicans voted with nearly all Democrats to pass the package 70-29.
“With this bill, the Senate declares that American leadership will not waver, will not falter, will not fail,” said Democrat Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who worked closely with Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on the legislation.
The bill’s passage through the Senate with a flourish of Republican support was a welcome sign for Ukraine amid critical shortages on the battlefield.
“Ukrainian soldiers out of artillery shells, Ukrainian units rationing rounds of ammunition to defend themselves, Ukrainian families worried that the next Russian strike will permanently plunge them into darkness, or worse,” Biden said.
The president appealed to House members in stark terms and called on Johnson to let the matter come to a vote.
Ukraine supporters were also hoping that the showing of bipartisan support in the Senate would pressure Johnson to advance the bill.
McConnell has made the issue his top priority over the past few months, and was resolute in the face of considerable pushback from his own Republican conference.
Speaking directly to his detractors, the longtime Republican leader said in a statement: “History settles every account. And today, on the value of American leadership and strength, history will record that the Senate did not blink.”
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