Deal in the House of Representatives
Ukraine has been waiting for US aid for months – now Congress could move
Mike Johnson heads the House of Representatives for the Republicans. He brings up an agreement on aid to Ukraine
© Shawn Thew / Pool via AP / Picture Alliance
In war, months feel like an eternity. And Ukraine has been waiting for new financial aid promises from the USA for a long time. But an aid package passed by the Senate is stuck in the House of Representatives – so far.
According to the news portal “Politico”, the Republican chairman of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, has hopes of a possible vote on new US aid for the Ukraine and Israel made. Johnson indicated that the aid for both countries could possibly be voted on using a parliamentary maneuver. This would require a two-thirds majority to pass.
Since the Republicans only have a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives and are not allowed to vote unanimously for aid to Ukraine, numerous Democratic votes would be required to pass the package. The majority of them support the aid for Ukraine. Johnson added that splitting aid to Ukraine and Israel into separate bills was being considered.
Congress divided over funding for Ukraine and Israel
The Senate voted in February for an aid package that includes around $60 billion in support for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel, as well as billions in aid for Taiwan and other partners in the Indo-Pacific. The approval of the second chamber, the House of Representatives, is still pending. Johnson is under pressure there because some of his Republican party colleagues reject further support for Ukraine. He has to fear that, like his predecessor Kevin McCarthy, he will be driven out of office if he messes with the right wing of his group. It is therefore unclear whether there will actually be a vote in the end. Johnson could change his strategy again if he comes under pressure.
“Politico” did not initially publish the interview in full, but wrote that Johnson’s statements were the “most decisive” to date about his plans for billions in aid. The Republican’s words were the clearest step he had taken so far “to commit to a vote on Ukraine aid,” it said. It has been unclear for weeks whether the aid will even be voted on in the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, Kiev is waiting for new financial commitments from the USA. However, Johnson made it clear that Congress would first have to take care of a new budget bill next week before they could turn to aid for foreign countries.
The USA is considered Ukraine’s most important ally in the fight against the Russian invasion. Since the war began in February 2022, the government under President Joe Biden has provided more than $44 billion (around 40 billion euros) in military aid to Kiev. Most recently, the US Department of Defense announced an emergency aid package of 300 million US dollars (275 million euros), which – according to the official statement – was made up of funds that the Pentagon had saved through negotiations on previous arms purchases. According to the US government, the funds approved by Congress for Ukraine have been exhausted.