Republicans in the US Congress do not want aid to Israel and Ukraine to come in the same package, and are seeking clarity from Biden about his goals in the Russian-Ukrainian war.
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Republican Mike Johnson, elected speaker of the House of Representatives two days ago, said that requests for military assistance to Israel and Ukraine should be considered separately. According to him, this is the solidary position of his fellow party members, who have a majority in the lower house.
Last week, the Joe Biden administration sent Congress a request for additional budgetary appropriations for the long-awaited 2024 fiscal year, which began in the United States on October 1. The lion’s share of the package totaling about $106 billion. comprise funds to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capability ($61 billion), and the rest is expected to be distributed between assistance to Israel, strengthening security in the Indo-Pacific region and strengthening the security of the US southern border.
On Thursday, Johnson visited the White House for the first time as Speaker of the House of Representatives, where he had a short conversation with Joe Biden and also spoke with members of his administration.
I told the White House today that the general consensus among Republicans in the House is that we need to separate these issues,” Johnson told Fox News late Thursday.
Israel is a separate issue. “We plan to introduce a separate project to finance assistance to Israel for more than $14 billion,” Johnson continued.
According to him, Republicans intend to look at which budget items could be cut in order to find additional funds to support Israel.
Speaking about assistance to Ukraine, Johnson repeated complaints that Republicans have repeatedly expressed against the Biden administration: in particular, without a formulated strategy for how the White House sees the desired end to the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Joe Biden and members of his administration have repeatedly repeated that they intend to help Ukraine “for as long as it takes,” while avoiding talking about the ultimate goals of the United States in this war. According to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and his fellow party members, clarity in understanding this goal should determine the size and content of assistance to Ukraine.
We want to know what exactly is being said, what is our ultimate goal in Ukraine. The White House still hasn’t presented that,” Johnson said.
He repeated the thesis that “Putin cannot be allowed to win in Ukraine, but the White House must clearly account for how funds are spent to help Kyiv.”
Johnson does not believe that everything will end in Ukraine.
This will push China to take a step towards Taiwan. We in Congress are responsible for managing the finances of the American people. We need to make sure the White House spends these dollars responsibly, Johnson told reporters.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.