Ukraine’s battle against Russia’s invasion has ground to a standstill as has the effort to deliver $61 billion in fresh US aid.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer formally threw in the towel and said this afternoon that an assistance package for Ukraine will have to wait until the new year.
Republicans in Congress have held up the money for Ukraine requested by President Joe Biden as they demand immigration policy changes to deter a migrant surge at the US southern border.
There are few issues in US politics as fraught as immigration. A bipartisan group of senators has been in daily negotiations with the White House. Even if they could reach an agreement in principle today, it would take time to write the legislation, debate it and vote. Christmas is only six days away, and the House already has gone home. The Senate will soon follow.
Schumer said the goal is to get an agreement on immigration that would let lawmakers vote on the aid package after Congress returns to work Jan. 8. (The Pentagon said this week that the money to replace weapons sent to Ukraine will run out Dec. 30.)
It won’t get any easier next year, given opposition to Ukraine aid among the GOP’s “America First” flank and the thorny nature of immigration debates. Lawmakers also will be focused on a Jan. 19 deadline, the first of two, to fund the government, as well as the 2024 election campaign.
The standoff is raising anxiety in the Europe Union, which is facing its own political disputes over Ukraine aid. It has some US allies questioning the reliability of American defense promises and contemplating the prospect of Russia winning.
One person not questioning the US commitment is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. At a news conference in Kyiv today he said he was confident of eventual victory over Russia and that “the US won’t betray us.”
