Between deadly Republican quarrels and standoff with Joe Biden, the American Congress was once again plunged into chaos on Wednesday, unable to validate any package for Ukraine or Israel.
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A bill supposed to approve funds for these two countries at war and reform the American migration system has nevertheless been fiercely negotiated for months. But no one has any illusions: this one will not pass either, during a vote in the Senate in the afternoon.
As for the House of Representatives, it was the scene on Tuesday of a humiliating moment for the Republican elected officials, despite having a majority but pitifully defeated in a procedure supposed to result in a historic indictment of a Joe Biden minister.
The United States, the main military supporter of Ukraine with more than 110 billion already released by Congress, has been struggling for months to send new funds to Kyiv.
The Democratic general staff, in charge in the Senate, is preparing a series of alternative scenarios “after the failure expected on Wednesday,” a source from this camp told AFP.
But the risk remains the same: that all these initiatives come up against a wall of Trumpist parliamentarians, who refuse to release the slightest additional cent for Kyiv, despite repeated pleas from American President Joe Biden.
“Worthy of thrillers”
The head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba, who has been pressing the United States for months to send new funds to counter Russia, regretted the “confused” situation on Wednesday.
“Last night, I received from Washington a final report on the possible scenarios, and some of them are worthy of thrillers,” declared Mr. Kouleba. “Everything is very confusing, depends on many factors and can go right or left or straight,” he added.
The failure to adopt new funds would be a huge disappointment for Ukraine, whose counter-offensive in the summer largely failed.
It would also be a significant setback for Joe Biden against his European partners, who approved on February 1 an extension of 50 billion euros for Kyiv.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg deemed it “essential” that the US Congress continue to support Ukraine, saying that “a Russian victory would weaken us and embolden not only Moscow, but also China, Iran and Korea North”.
Hospital outfit
The United States is not much further along in validating funds for Israel, a historic ally at war against Hamas since October 7.
Because President Joe Biden demands that any aid for Israel be coupled with an envelope for Ukraine.
Republicans in the House refuse, but were unable to pass their own bill Tuesday to force his hand.
Already shaken by the dismissal of one of its leaders a few months ago, the Republicans at the head of the institution suffered another setback in the evening by failing to indict Biden’s minister responsible for immigration. They accuse Alejandro Mayorkas of having created a crisis on the border with Mexico and for this reason wanted to impose a sanction not seen in almost 150 years.
The Republican general staff, who thought they had a sufficient number of votes to win this vote, were taken by surprise by the surprise arrival in the chamber of a Democratic elected official, Al Green, who was still recovering from illness. an abdominal operation.
The elected official from Arizona arrived in a wheelchair in the middle of the vote, barefoot and in hospital clothes, ultimately tipping the scales in favor of the Democrats.
