Paralyzed, American Congress stumbles into envelopes for Ukraine or Israel – 02/08/2024 at 03:27

Amid internal Republican squabbles and a standoff with President Joe Biden, the American Congress remains paralyzed and has postponed a vote on aid to Ukraine or Israel until Thursday.

In the afternoon, senators rejected a text that would have released new wartime funds for the two countries and reformed the United States’ immigration system. This despite months of hard negotiations.

Under pressure from Donald Trump, who still retains enormous control over his troops in Congress, most Republicans ultimately voted against it — even those who had initially supported it.

The Senate was initially going to try its luck again on another text with a more uncertain outcome. But the vote was postponed till Thursday.

This second text includes aid to the two countries, but does not include migration reform.

“The upper chamber of Congress will reconvene Thursday afternoon to give our Republican colleagues the night to get their act together,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said.

The United States, Ukraine’s main military backer, has been struggling for months to send new funds to Kiev, with more than 110 billion already released by Congress.

The Democratic General Staff, in charge in the Senate, is exploring a series of scenarios to approve this aid at any cost.

– “Worthy of Thrillers” –

But the risk remains the same every time: that the initiative comes up against a wall of Trumpist parliamentarians, the majority in the House of Representatives, who, despite Joe Biden’s repeated requests, refuse to give up the slightest extra cent for Kiev.

However, to be declared, this aid must be adopted by both houses of the American Congress at all costs.

Ukrainian diplomatic chief Dmytro Kouleba, who for months has been pressing the United States to send new funds to counter Russia, lamented the “confusing” situation on Wednesday.

“Last night, I received the final report from Washington on possible scenarios, and some of them are worthy of a thriller,” Mr. Kouleba declared. “Everything is very complicated, depends on many factors and can go right or left or straight,” he added.

Failure to adopt the new funding would be a huge disappointment for Ukraine, whose summer counter-offensive largely failed.

It would also be a significant setback for Joe Biden in the face of his European partners, who approved an additional 50 billion euros for Kiev on February 1.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg called it “imperative” that Congress continue its support for Ukraine, saying “a Russian victory would weaken us and embolden not only Moscow, but also China, Iran and South Korea.” North”.

– Mayhem among the Trumpists –

Since October 7, the United States has been no further in approving funding for Israel, a historic ally in the war against Palestinian Hamas.

Because President Biden demands that any aid to Israel be accompanied by an envelope for Ukraine.

House Republicans refused, but were unable to pass their own bill on Tuesday to force their hand.

Rocked by the firing of one of its leaders just a few months ago, conservatives at the head of the organization suffered another setback in the evening by failing to indict Joe Biden’s immigration minister.

They accuse Alejandro Mayorkas of creating a crisis on the border with Mexico and for this reason want to impose sanctions not seen in nearly 150 years.

The Republican general staff, who thought they had enough votes to win the vote, were surprised by the surprise arrival in the chamber of Democratic elected official Al Green, who was still recovering from an illness. Abdominal operation.

An Arizona elected official arrived in a wheelchair, barefoot and in a hospital gown between votes, ultimately tipping the scales in favor of Democrats.