Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Year : 2, Issue : 9
President Joe Biden will host top congressional leaders at the White House Tuesday as he and fellow Democrats remain at odds with House Republicans over aid to Ukraine and government funding with a partial shutdown deadline just days away.
The “Big 4” leaders sitting down with the president are House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. During Tuesday’s meeting with all four congressional leaders, Biden will try to “push forward” his supplemental funding request to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
The two-year mark of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine passed this weekend. Since Republicans took control of the House, no new aid has been approved by Congress to help Ukraine stave off Vladimir Putin’s forces.
Johnson dismissed the stand-alone foreign aid bill for not including border changes, and it was not brought to the House floor before lawmakers left earlier this month for a two-week recess. On the issue of Ukraine aid itself, Johnson previously said he wants answers from the administration on what exactly the endgame is for Ukraine and how the U.S. funds would be used to reach that goal.
Meanwhile, if lawmakers can’t reach a spending agreement by Friday night, a partial shutdown will ensue affecting several agencies. If by March 8 there is still no legislation passed, a total government shutdown will occur.
Schumer, in a letter to colleagues ahead of lawmakers’ return to Washington on Monday, pinned blame on a possible shutdown and lack of foreign aid on the “extreme wing” of the Republican party.
“At a time of divided government, Senate Democrats are attempting at this late stage to spend on priorities that are farther left than what their chamber agreed upon,” the speaker wrote on X.
Source: ABC News
