The shutdown almost occurred in the USA amid disagreements over increased aid to Ukraine, so it was decided to combine the allocation of funds for the Ukrainian and Israeli armies into a joint package. In this way, they tried to overcome the opposition of the Republicans, who have long opposed the active financing of the Ukrainian-Russian war. But the obstacles started again.
It’s not glued
Now, they want to split the package, which was previously decided to be combined. For this purpose, a separate bill is being prepared, according to which the financial assistance for Tel Aviv and Kyiv should be divided.
This will have two effects:
– The dissatisfaction of the House of Representatives will be overcome, which will allow to provide aid to Israel faster because further delay worsens the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
– The problems of the Biden administration, which announced 106 billion dollars in military aid to Ukraine, will intensify.
The matter has worsened over the past month because the number of representatives who are against increased support for Ukraine has risen; now, they are more than half of the Republican conference.
Single voices
However, some influential politicians are making efforts to ensure that the package of financial assistance remains joint. They include the chairman of the Republican Party in the Senate, Mitch McConnell. He does not stop calling on other senators that the initiative of the Biden administration should be supported.
But, it is necessary to state that now a dangerous trend persists: senators say that the topic of Israel unites them, and the topic of Ukraine divides them. Aid separation to these two countries under different bills will help preserve unity.
Shutdown again?
However, there is one more unresolved point: the senators must finally approve the state budget for next year by November 17 because that is when the temporary budget will cease to apply. Politicians were given 45 days by law to agree and resolve all differences, and the term will expire on the 17th.
Even though the situation is getting worse, there is a particular positive shift in it. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, said that they can agree to help, but for this, Ukraine will be given conditions that will have to be fulfilled. The main one is detailed accountability on how precisely the provided resources are used.
Mike Johnson is a new face in the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives, who was elected on October 25. Perhaps he will be the person who will be able to untangle the tightened political and bureaucratic knot.
