IRIA News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has canceled his address to the U.S. Senate to make a direct appeal to U.S. lawmakers for additional aid amid a funding dispute in Congress. The White House has warned that existing funds for Kyiv to ward off Russia’s invasion will run out by the end of the year.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Zelenskyy canceled his virtual appearance at the Senate’s closed-door briefing on Ukraine and Israel after “something came up at the last minute,” according to media reports.

For weeks, Republicans and Democrats in both the Senate and the House of Representatives have been embroiled in discussions over Biden’s October proposal, seeking Congressional approval for $106 billion allocated to Ukraine, Israel, border security with Mexico, and U.S. interests in the Indo-Pacific.

The Democrat has scheduled a vote on Wednesday to clear the initial procedural step for addressing Biden’s $106 billion aid request for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. However, securing 60 votes in the 100-member Senate is crucial, and the 49-member Republican minority is poised to block the package due to its exclusion of proposed immigration reforms.

Republicans storm out of briefing amid dispute over Israel and Ukraine aid package

The Biden administration’s dire warning about impending financial constraints for Ukraine clashes with the current discussion in Capitol Hill as some House conservatives resist additional Ukraine funding, while Senate Republicans insist on incorporating it into a comprehensive spending package covering Israel, Taiwan, and the U.S. Southern border.

Several Republican senators walked out of a classified briefing on Ukraine, led by the secretaries of defense and state, as it descended into a row over the border crisis.

Republicans are pushing for immigration policy changes in exchange for approving new aid for Ukraine, leading to tensions and a walkout.

Republican leaders have said they will consider additional aid to Ukraine only in exchange for major changes to border policy to severely limit the number of migrants entering the United States. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he is urging House Republicans to vote against the Ukraine supplemental aid package unless “meaningful” border security changes are included.

Senate Republicans have been crystal clear: national security starts with border security. The sooner Democrats realize this, the sooner we can deliver on urgent national security priorities.

— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) December 5, 2023

Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, said Democrats have not done enough to earn the support of his members to send more money to Ukraine. “The Biden administration has failed to substantively address any of my conference’s legitimate concerns about the lack of a clear strategy in Ukraine, a path to resolving the conflict, or a plan for adequately ensuring accountability for aid provided by American taxpayers,” Johnson said on X, in response to the White House letter.

“House Republicans have resolved that any national security supplemental package must begin with our own border.” Mike Johnson also reiterated that funding for Israel and Ukraine should not be included in the same bill as border security.

My response to the White House on their lack of a clearly defined strategy and end game for prevailing in Ukraine and the need for transformative change to our nation’s border security laws: pic.twitter.com/JZZhIp7K4v

— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) December 5, 2023

“They want tens of billions of dollars to help our friends and allies overseas, but they’re not willing to do what’s necessary to prevent a potential crisis at the border,” Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, said. “The Biden administration just does not seem to care.”

White House warns Ukraine aid is running out

The White House has warned congressional leaders that the United States would run out of money to send weapons to Ukraine by year’s end. In a letter to congressional leadership on Monday, director of the Office of Management and Budget Shalanda Young said that “without congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and to provide equipment from U.S. military stocks.”

“There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment,” Young wrote. “We are out of money—and nearly out of time.” She added that “Cutting off the flow of U.S. weapons and equipment will kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield, not only putting at risk the gains Ukraine has made, but increasing the likelihood of Russian military victories.”

The White House issued an urgent warning to Congress that Ukraine will lose ground in the war as the funding shortfall will jeopardize Kyiv’s ability to defend itself against Russia.

“We’re running out of money, and we are nearly out of time,” Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters. The toughening of administration rhetoric suggested that any lawmaker who opposed funding was on the Russian leader’s side. “A vote against supporting Ukraine is a vote to improve (Vladimir) Putin’s strategic position,” he said.

United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen cautioned that the United States would be responsible for the defeat if Ukraine loses. “I’ve talked to members of Congress, my colleagues have. I think they understand that this is a dire situation and we can hold ourselves responsible for Ukraine’s defeat if we don’t manage to get this funding to Ukraine that’s needed, and I’m including direct budget support here because that’s utterly essential,” Yellen said.