President Biden expressed concern on Wednesday that the GOP chaos in the House could threaten aid to Ukraine, saying it is vital to U.S. interests that Kyiv succeed in its war with Russia.
“It does worry me, but I know there are a majority of members of the House and Senate in both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine,” Mr. Biden said after delivering a speech about his plans to cancel $9 billion in student loan debt.
The president said he planned to address the issue with a major speech on Ukraine, in which he would lay out the case that continuing to provide aid to the worn-torn country is critical to the U.S.
“I’m going to make the argument that it is overwhelmingly in the interests of the United States of America that Ukraine succeed,” Mr. Biden said. “I’ve spent two years putting together coalitions that no one thought could be put together and they’ve strengthened us across the board, not just Ukraine.”
“I think it’s clear to the vast majority on both the left and the right that this has been a valuable exercise for the United States of America to increase the support we have around the world,” he said.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S. has provided four rounds of assistance to Ukraine totaling $113 billion, with most of that money going toward military equipment. In August, Mr. Biden called on Congress to provide an additional $24 billion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month visited Washington and met with Mr. Biden and lawmakers, urging them to increase U.S. aid to his country.
Mr. Biden’s remarks come one day after the ousting of Kevin McCarthy, California Republican, as speaker of the House, leaving the post vacant while lawmakers scramble to succeed him. Eight hard-line Republicans joined all Democrats in voting to remove Mr. McCarthy.
Mr. Biden signed a last-minute stopgap measure last weekend to keep the U.S. government operating, but it did not include his request for billions of dollars to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
Mr. Biden on Tuesday spoke with U.S. allies and partners to help coordinate future support for Ukraine.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have acknowledged that winning approval for Ukraine aid is becoming increasingly difficult as Republican resistance to the proposals gains momentum.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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