A bipartisan deal backed by U.S. President Joe Biden to provide Ukraine with multibillion-dollar aid along with tougher immigration policies is facing increasing resistance from Republicans in Congress, posing a serious threat to its progress on Capitol Hill.
The signing of a bipartisan agreement on aid to Ukraine is in jeopardy
As of the morning of February 6, at least 21 Republican senators had announced they would vote against the bill.
The Financial Times writes about it.
The newspaper notes that the bill agreed upon by representatives of the Democratic and Republican parties in the Senate could be the last chance for the Biden administration to get new military support for Ukraine in its defence against Russian invasion - along with other national security goals, including aid to Israel and Taiwan.
It is also a rare compromise in efforts to limit immigration across the US-Mexico border, including restrictions on asylum, which have been a rallying call for Republicans and a political liability for Democrats throughout Biden's presidency, the report said.
The FT recalls that the bipartisan deal was "ruined" by ex-president Donald Trump - the Republican presidential front-runner tried again to torpedo the latest breakthrough on Monday, just days before a scheduled vote on the deal in the Senate.
In particular, Trump wrote on the social network that this bill "is a great gift for Democrats and a death wish for the Republican Party."
Within hours of publication, top Republicans in the House of Representatives, who also must approve the bill to become law, issued a joint statement saying "any Senate consideration of this bill as it stands is a waste of time.", the publication informs.
The FT says the first legislative hurdle for the bill will be the Senate, which is expected to vote on February 7 and will need the support of 60 of the chamber's 100 senators.
At least 12 of the 49 Republican senators in total must support the bill for it to move forward, with some Democrats also expected to vote against it because they see border measures as too draconian. But the criticism from some Republican lawmakers has been harsh -- and appears to be dooming his prospects, the article said.
At the same time, the publication reports that as of Tuesday morning, at least 21 Republican senators have announced that they will vote against the bill, which means that it will be defeated, and this "marks the latest blow to the traditional Republican foreign policy hawks and political pragmatists who supported the bipartisan breakthrough ", including Mitch McConnell, the party leader in the Senate.
On Monday, he urged Republicans to support a package that would help the US and its allies "re-establish dominance" over the "emerging authoritarian axis" in Moscow, Beijing and Tehran.
Now his future as a leader may be in jeopardy, the authors of the article believe.
According to their information, the Democrats and the White House also do not give up hope that the Senate can at least accept the agreement.
The question is whether senators can drown out the outside noise, silence people like Donald Trump who want chaos, and do the right thing for America.
Chuck Schumer
US Senator
US aid to Ukraine: what is known
The other day, the US Senate approved a draft law on aid to Ukraine. According to the document, they want to allocate 60.1 billion dollars to support Kyiv.
Subsequently, the senators criticized the draft law on assistance to Ukraine.
According to Speaker Mike Johnson from the Republican Party, the document will be "dead on arrival" if it reaches the House of Representatives.
