Israel's needs 'more urgent' than Ukraine's
(Baonghean.vn)- Newly elected US House Speaker Johnson has revealed that President Joe Biden's latest request for funding for Ukraine will be postponed as US lawmakers vote this week on a more "urgent" priority, which is to help protect Israel in its war with Hamas.
“We will be moving a separate funding bill for Israel this week to the House of Representatives,” Johnson said Sunday in an interview with Fox News. “I know our colleagues, our Republican colleagues in the Senate, have similar measures in mind.”
He gave no indication of when the House might consider the latest round of funding for Ukraine.
Biden has called for bundling aid for both Ukraine and Israel into a $106 billion emergency funding bill, rather than allowing lawmakers to vote on the issues separately. Earlier this month, the Biden administration unveiled plans to provide an additional $61.4 billion to fund the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, $14.3 billion for Israel and $9.2 billion for humanitarian aid in both countries.
Congress has previously passed $113 billion in aid to Ukraine in four rounds of legislation, but Republican opposition to additional funding for Kiev has grown. Most House lawmakers in the majority now oppose additional aid to Ukraine, and disagreement among Republicans over the issue contributed to the ouster of Johnson’s predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, earlier this month. Johnson predicted that a separate bill on Israel would have strong bipartisan support in both chambers.
“My intention is not to exploit this issue for any partisan political games,” he said. “This is a very serious matter.”
The new House speaker, who has been skeptical of aid to Kiev, has previously said the Biden administration has not provided a roadmap for what it hopes to achieve with the massive aid to Ukraine and a plan to end the conflict. Meanwhile, he has shown no reservations about supporting Israel.
“We believe that there is a pressing and urgent need,” Mr. Johnson said in an interview on Sunday. “There are many issues going on around the world that we have to address and we will, but at the moment, what is happening in Israel is of immediate concern and I think we have to isolate that and address it.”
“This is our country’s top priority and we cannot allow the unspeakable atrocities and crimes against Israel to continue... We will stand with our friends,” the new Speaker of the House of Representatives said.
