The frantic scramble to hammer through a deal to provide more money to the Kiev regime has prompted the US Senate to delay its Christmas holiday break. The upper chamber of Congress will be returning to Washington on Monday, December 18, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has announced.
“If we believe something is important and urgent, we should stay and get the job done. That is certainly the case with the supplemental. For the information of all senators, after we finish today, the Senate will return Monday. That will give negotiators from the White House, Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans a time to work through the weekend in an effort to reach a framework agreement. Members need to be here next week. We have to get this done,” Schumer stated.
Schumer was prolific on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, trying to rile up the Republicans that he said “know very well that Ukraine's fate is linked to our national security,” and claiming that “If Ukraine falls, it will be a historic, colossal tragedy.”
The lower chamber, the House of Representatives, has already adjourned for the year, and is expected to return on January 9. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., took a parting shot aimed at the Senate, posting on X that "the border is not just a crisis, it’s a catastrophe."
Screenshot of X post by US Hpouse Speaker Mike Johnson.
© Photo : SpeakerJohnson/X
There appeared to be no agreement between Democrats and Republicans regarding whether any progress had been made over recent days. Senate Republicans have dismissed claims that enough traction on the border issues has been gained to warrant keeping lawmakers in Washington for the extra few days.
“Everything right now is still conceptual… There hasn’t been anything nailed down, agreed upon, let alone reduced to paper. They’re making progress, but … the question is: Is it enough progress? I’m trying to be hopeful but have a hard time seeing that,” the No. 2 Senate Republican, Sen. John Thune (R-SD), told reporters.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed that the border talks were “going in the right direction,” and that President Biden has been in “regular contact, regular touch” with congressional leaders.
However, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was far from optimistic, telling reporters:
“I think we’re a long way from being able to pass something that matters by the end of the year. They’re using this to try to put something together. I’m not gonna take the bait. There is no language to even look at... At this moment a deal by the end of the year is just not remotely possible.”
US President Joe Biden submitted a $106 billion supplemental request to Congress in October that includes $61 billion for Ukraine. In December, the total request grew to nearly $111 billion, as Senate Democrats released new draft legislation. However, the day after the request was unveiled, every Republican voted against advancing the legislation. Just as in the case of the previously blocked package, Republicans demanded the inclusion of border security measures in the bill. The White House's Office of Management and Budget warned in a letter to Congress last week that it would run out of money for military aid to Ukraine by the end of the year unless Congress passes its supplemental funding request.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan offered up a grim forecast, saying that the year 2024 will be very difficult if the US Congress fails to approve new military assistance for Ukraine.
Even the arrival of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington to once again lobby lawmakers for more money to fuel NATO's proxy war against Russia failed to make an impression. US House Speaker Mike Johnson doubled down on his stance that any funding package that includes aid to Ukraine also has to include strict US border security measures.
"My message to [Zelensky] will be the same as it’s been to the president... This is an important battle for all the reasons we know, but I don’t think it’s a radical proposition to say that if we’re going to have a national security supplemental package, it ought to begin with our own national security," Johnson said at The Wall Street Journal's CEO summit.