The forthcoming weeks will see a more difficult path ahead for the bipartisan effort to assist Ukraine as House conservatives, now led by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La. ), set the stage for a contentious debate over the proposed money.
In his initial appearance with Fox News on Thursday, Johnson claimed he informed the White House that the GOP conference’s agreement “is that we need to bifurcate” aid to Israel and Ukraine.
His remarks were made only hours after a group of conservative senators separated the White House’s $105 billion request for additional cash to include aid for Taiwan, Ukraine, and other issues, and instead filed a plan to give aid to Israel.
In a prime-time speech last week, President Biden pushed Congress for the help, pledging almost $61 billion in lethal aid to Ukraine and approximately $14 billion for air and missile defenses to Israel, a nation with vastly superior military might.
Additionally, the two nations are engaged in radically different wars. In an effort to retake land from Russian forces, Ukraine is fighting a counteroffensive on the ground and an artillery campaign, but the battle is being hampered by mines and other barriers that Moscow’s forces have had plenty of time to install.
However, Israel is about to begin a ground attack against Hamas in a densely populated area that will necessitate fierce house-to-house urban combat and thus a significant amount of aide from the U.S.
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